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Organ    of    the    Priesthood    Quorums,    the    Young    Men's    Mutual    Improvement 
Associations  and  the  Schools  of  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints 

Published  Monthly  by  the  General  Board  at  Salt  Lake  City, Utah 


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MENTION   THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


Each  Day  is  Flag  Day  Now 


By  Alfred  Lambourne 


'Tis  blossom  time,  the  Spring  has  come, 

Each  day  is  Flag  Day  now! 
O  play  the  fife  and  beat  the  drum, 

Each  day  is  Flag  Day  now! 

The  birds  are  singing  in  the  trees, 

Each  day  is  Flag  Day  now! 
Unfurl  our  banner  to  the  breeze, 

Each  day  is  Flag  Day  now! 

Hail  Flag,  that  shows  the  clustered  Stars, 

Each  day  is  Flag  Day  now! 
For  Uncle  Sam  is  in  the  Wars, 

Each  day  is  Flag  Day  now! 

Fling  to  the  breeze  the  Stars  and  Stripes, 

Each  day  is  Flag  Day  now ! 
Freeman  and  Tyrant  are  at  gripes, 

Each  day  is  Flag  Day  now! 

That  banner  o'er  the  seas  shall  wave, 

Each  day  is  Flag  Day  now! 
Its  presence  still  shall  tell  the  brave, 

Each  day  is  Flag  Day  now ! 

Let  Faith  and  Courage  fill  the  land, 

Each  day  is  Flag  Day  now! 
To  win  the  fight  we  take  our  stand, 

Each  day  is  Flag  Day  now! 

Our  sons  shall  battle  in  their  might, 

Each  day  is  Flag  Day  now! 
No  Peace  'till  triumph'd  has  the  Right, 

Each  day  is  Flag  Day  now! 


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Improvement  Era 


Vol.  XX  JUNE,   1917  No.  8 


Faith 


By  Nephi  Jensen 


On  the  10th  day  of  December,  1916,  the  Rev.  Fred  Winslow 
Adams,  of  New  York  City,  preached  a  sermon  on  the  subject, 
"What  is  the  greatest  safeguard  against  temptation?"  The  fol- 
lowing answers  elicited  from  persons  of  note  formed  the  basis 
of  the  discourse: 

"High  aims,"  Andrew  Carnegie. 

"Influence  of  a  good  mother,"  Dr.  Lyman  Abbott. 

"The  will  to  resist,"  Oscar  S.  Strauss. 

"Influence  of  a  good  home  to  those  who  have  it,  and  fear 
to  those  who  have  not,"  Booth  Tarkington. 

"Knowledge,"  Arthur  Brisbane. 

"Will,"  Irving  Bacheller. 

"Healthy  interest  in  good  things,"  Sir  R.  Tagore. 

Dr.  Adams'  question  calls  for  an  answer  that  should  contain 
the  name  of  the  strongest  force  in  the  world  for  righteousness. 
What  is  it?  Faith!  Why  did  these  noted  persons,  most  of 
whom  are  Christians,  fail  to  use  this  word  of  words?  Was  it 
because  of  the  false  modern  notion  that  Christian  faith  is  a 
mere  insipid,  passive  leaning  upon  the  arm  of  God?  If  some 
of  them  had  had  Paul's  depth  of  understanding  of  the  religion 
of  Jesus  they  would  probably  have  given  his  answer  to  this 
question  of  questions:  "Above  all,  take  the  shield  of  faith, 
wherewith  ye  shall  be  able  to  quench  all  the  fiery  darts  of  the 
wicked"  (Eph.  6:16). 

Every  temptation  speaks  in  the  serpent's  original  words: 
"It  is  desirable."  Only  the  deep-rooted  living  assurance  of  the 
supreme  desirability  of  good  and  pure  things  makes  the  soul 
invulnerable  to  sin's  deceitful  enticing.  It  is  not  enough  to 
merely  resist  evil.  Nothing  but  the  deep  love  of  the  good  and 
true  which  completely  quenches  the  desire  for  sinful  pleasures, 
wholly  disarms  the  tempter.  This  love  is  born  of  the  faith  that 
gives  the  soul  the  saint's  certainty  of  the  reality  and  everlasting 
glory  of  the  great  trinity  of  graces,  goodness,  truth  and  beauty. 


666  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

Andrew  Carnegie's  antidote,  "high  aims,"  suggests  Goethe's 
words,  "The  important  thing  in  life  is  to  have  a  great  aim." 
But  what  is  most  important  is  the  principle  that  inspires  "high 
aims."  Why  does  one  "hitch  his  wagon  to  a  star"?  Why  does 
he  resolve  to  make  the  development  and  perfection  of  character 
the  most  important  business  of  life?  There  can  be  only  one 
answer.     As  is  one's  faith  so  is  his  aspiration. 

Arthur  Brisbane  concludes  that  "knowledge"  is  the  best 
safeguard  against  temptation.  Without  doubt  knowledge  is 
power.  But  sin  is  a  foe  so  deadly  that  nothing  short  of  supreme 
power  can  repel  its  deceptive  advances.  Almost  daily  we  meet 
men  held  in  slavery  by  the  cigarette  and  other  bad  habits,  who 
say  very  frankly,  "I  know  it  is  harmful  to  smoke,  but  I  can't 
quit."  What  do  these  unfortunates  lack?  Knowledge?  No. 
They  lack  the  power  to  turn  "can't"  into  "can."  Faith  is  the 
name  of  this  power,  faith  that  transmutes  the  desire  for  evil 
things  into  the  love  of  God  and  his  righteousness. 

A  few  days  ago  we  ate  lunch  with  a  doctor.  In  spite  of  his 
scientific  knowledge  that  tobacco  is  injurious  to  health,  he 
smoked  cigarettes  after  his  lunch.  That  evening  we  called  on  a 
Dutch  family  in  the  capacity  of  ward  teachers.  During  the 
conversation  the  Dutchman  said,  "We  joined  the  Church  seven 
years  ago.  The  first  elders  who  came  to  our  house  told  us  that 
it  was  wrong  to  use  tobacco.  I  have  never  used  tobacco  since 
that  time."  What  is  the  difference  between  the  doctor  and  the 
Dutchman?  The  one  has  facts  in  his  head,  the  other  has  a 
living  principle  in  his  heart.  Knowledge  is  awareness  of  facts; 
faith  is  an  attitude,  a  disposition.  Nobility  of  heart  is  a  better 
moral  guide  than  a  head  full  of  philosophy. 

The  answers  of  Bacheller  and  Strauss  in  the  one  word  "Will" 
suggest  a  question  which  calls  for  a  deeper  answer.  Why  does 
anyone  "will"  to  resist  temptation?  Is  it  not  because  of  the 
soul-rooted  conviction  that  virtue  leads  to  joy  and  vice  is  the 
way  to  despair?  Would  one  "will"  to  become  a  saint  if  he  did 
not  believe  that  sainthood  is  the  highest  human  achievement  and 
possible  of  attainment  through  ceaseless  resolution  and  striving? 
The  conclusion  is  irresistible.  Back  of  "will"  is  faith,  and  back 
of  faith  is  God. 

"There  is  no  destiny,  no  chance,  no  fate 
Can  circumvent  or  hinder  or  control 
The  firm  resolve  of  a  determined  soul. 
Gifts  count  for  nothing,  will  alone  is  great, 
All  things  give  way  before  it  soon  or  late." 

These  strong  words  are  only  true  of  the  "will"  to  which 
faith  has  welded  the  strength  of  God.  Such  a  "will"  is  the  im- 
perial sovereign  in  this  world  of  clashing  forces  and  enticing 
deceits.     Before  it  every  foe  of  the  soul  cowers  in  defeat. 


FAITH  667 

Tagore  thinks  a  "healthy  interest  in  good  things"  is  the 
surest  safeguard  against  temptation.  But  what  is  really  needed 
is  the  power  that  awakens  a  "healthy  interest  in  good  things." 
What  is  this  power?  What  is  it  that  unfailingly  sends  the  soul 
in  eager  quest  of  "good  things?"  Faith!  Can  there  be  any 
doubt  about  it?  Why  does  anyone  adore  truth,  practice  virtue 
and  thereby  attain  the  beauty  of  holiness?  Is  it  not  because  of 
his  undoubting  conviction  that  truth  alone  sets  the  soul  free, 
and  goodness  is  the  only  way  to  genuine,  lasting  happiness  and 
peace?  It  is  only  when  faith  wavers  that  vice  seems  more  fair 
than  virtue  and  temptation  does  its  deadly  work.  In  every  age 
the  heroic  souls  who  have  ceaselessly  shunned  sin  as  a  deadly 
viper,  and  clung  to  virtue  as  the  fairest  thing  beneath  the  stars, 
have  continually  had  before  their  eyes  and  in  their  hearts  the 
sentiment,  which  is  the  soul  of  all  morals,  "God  is  the  great  final 
jndge  of  all  my  thoughts,  deeds  and  aspirations." 

"A  healthy  interest  in  good  things,"  is  a  very  desirable  pos- 
session. But  the  "thirst"  of  the  soul  for  "good  things"  is  more 
potential  for  righteousness  than  a  "healthy  interest  in  good 
things."  The  "hunger  and  thirst  for  righteousness,"  which  is 
only  awakened  by  genuine  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  sends  the  soul 
toward  God  and  truth  with  an  eagerness  that  makes  vice  seem 
hideous.  This  "hunger  and  thirst  for  righteousness,"  is  only 
found  in  the  hearts  of  those  who  have  through  faith  drawn  so 
close  to  God  that  they  have  become  certain  that  truth  alone 
satisfies  the  soul's  deepest  craving.  These  souls  receive  a  "testi- 
mony of  the  truth,"  which  makes  them  so  certain  of  the  glory 
of  truth,  the  nobility  of  goodness  and  the  beauty  of  purity,  that 
sin  becomes  utterly  loathsome  to  them. 

It  is  most  disheartening  that  the  answer  of  Dr.  Lyman  Ab- 
bott, one  of  the  most  noted  living  divines,  indicates  that  he  has 
forgotten  or  never  knew  that  "God"  is  not  only  the  most  sacred 
but  the  most  powerful  word  spoken.  No  one  would  dispute 
with  him  the  "mother's"  right  to  a  very  prominent  place  among 
the  names  of  the  great  factors  and  forces  for  righteousness.  But 
does  it  not  smack  a  little  of  sentimentalism  for  a  minister  of 
Christ  to  put  the  "influence  of  a  good  mother"  above  the  "in- 
fluence of  God,"  which  the  docotor's  answer  seems  to  do?  Has 
the  doctor  forgotten  the  "matchless  power  of  Jesus'  name?" 
Does  he  expect  that  men  can  become  Christians  without  Christ, 
or  godlv  without  God?  If  he  does,  he  puts  himself  in  a  class 
with  the  majority  of  modern  divines  who  have  not  yet  learned 
that  faith  in  Christ  is  the  awakened  consciousness  of  the  divinity 
in  man,  which  more  powerfully  and  certainly  than  any  other 
force  keeps  man  from  sin  and  draws  him  towards  God,  the  goal 
of  all  good! 

That  not  one  of  these  answers  even  hints  at  the  availability 


668  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

of  divine  power  to  nerve  the  soul  with  strength  and  courage  to 
combat  sin  is  perfectly  in  keeping  with  the  spirit  of  the  age.  A 
few  centuries  ago  the  teachers  of  religion  strove  to  make  the 
race  godly  without  goodness.  The  pendulum  has  swung  to  the 
other  extreme.  Now  they  are  trying  to  make  the  race  good 
without  godliness.  On  every  hand  we  hear  men  say,  "I  believe 
morality  but  I  don't  take  any  stock  in  religion."  As  well  might 
they  say,  "A  watch  without  a  mainspring  is  just  as  good  as  one 
with  a  spring."  Faith  is  the  mainspring  of  the  soul.  It  is  the 
moral  energy  of  the  heart.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  attendance 
at  church  services,  prayer,  the  reading  of  the  scriptures,  and  all 
those  activities  that  make  for  an  increase  of  faith,  send  the  soul 
truth-ward  with  an  impetus  unknown  to  those  who  only  practice 
godless  morality-  God  is  at  the  heart  of  all  things,  good,  true 
and  beautiful.  To  leave  his  name  out  of  a  plan  intended  for 
the  moralization  of  the  race  is  as  vain  as  an  attempt  to  put 
harmonious  tints  into  the  heart  of  a  flower  without  sunlight. 
Just  as  the  sunlight  puts  the  glory  of  beauty  in  the  soul  of  the 
rose,  so  God's  Spirit  puts  the  glory  of  purity  and  goodness  in  the 
human  soul. 

It  is  not  enough  that  one  "wills  to  resist"  temptation.  If  he 
merely  strives  to  refrain  from  sinful  indulgence  he  will  still  be 
subject  to  temptation.  What  is  needed  is  the  supreme  aspira- 
tion for  good  and  pure  things  that  sends  the  soul  truth-ward  with 
an  impetus  that  leaves  the  tempter's  schemes  far  in  the  rear  of 
the  advancing  soul.  Faith  is  the  name  of  this  aspiration.  Only 
living  faith  in  God  and  his  Christ,  nerves  the  soul  with  all  con- 
quering strength  in  his  warfare  against  evil.  This  faith  makes 
him  conscious  of  the  divinity  in  him,  gives  him  the  martyr's 
certainty  of  the  everlasting  glory  of  pure  and  holy  things;  and 
awakens  in  the  depths  of  his  soul  a  "hunger  and  thirst  for  right- 
eousness" that  impels  him  to  reach  out  for  God  with  divine 
strength  in  answer  to  the  call,  "Come  unto  me." 

Faith  is  the  highest  "aim."  It  is  the  soul's  supreme  aspira- 
tion. It  is  more  than  "will."  It  is  will  plus  the  strength  of  God. 
It  is  deeper  than  a  "healthy  interest  in  good  things."  It  is  a 
"hunger  and  thirst"  for  the  best  things.  It  leads  to  the  "knowl- 
edge" of  God  which  is  life  eternal,  and  which  enables  one  to 
tiuthfully  say  and  live: 

"It  matters  not  how  straight  the  gate, 
How  charged  with  punishment  the  shoal, 

I  am  master  of  my  fate 
I  am  captain  of  my  soul." 

Carlisle  was  right.     "Belief  is  great,  life-giving.     The  his- 
tory of  a  nation  becomes  fruitful,  soul-elevating,  great,  so  soon 
as  it  believes." 
Forest  Dale,  Utah 


A  Study   in  American   Hebraic   Names 


By  Thomas  W .  Brookbank 


(Concluded  from  page  335) 

These  remarks  have  already  been  extended  far  beyond  the 
limits  at  first  set  for  a  conclusion,  and  still  there  are  other  mat- 
ters closely  associated  with  our  purpose  which  have  not  yet 
been  touched  upon,  and  they  shall  now  receive  attention  in  their 
order.  The  first  of  these  is  to  show  a  close  relationship  be- 
tween Book  of  Mormon  names  and  some  found  among  the  In- 
dians. If  the  Book  of  Mormon  is  a  record  of  Jewish  ancestors 
of  the  native  Americans,  that  volume  should  show  more  or  less 
clearly  an  analogy  in  names. 

Laman.  To  head  this  new  list  none  seems  so  appropriate 
as  Laman.  This  name  is  familiar  to  every  reader  of  the  Book  of 
Mormon.  It  occurs  in  Tepuchtlitaquit-laman-i,  an  ancient  Amer- 
ican name,  with  an  i  at  the  close,  being  thus  in  strict  analogy 
with  Hebraic  usage  which  added  an  i  to  many  base  names.  In 
Xi-loman-alitzli,  the  name  of  a  Nahua  month,  we  have  Laman 
again  with  simply  an  o  instead  of  an  a,  which  is  but  in  harmony 
with  the  frequent  substitution  of  one  vowel  for  another  in  He- 
braic names,  and  to  which  attention  has  heretofore  been  called. 
In  Laman-I-Bota  the  name  in  hand  occurs  without  change  as  an 
independent  part  of  a  compound,  which  is  another  Nahua  name. 
In  the  appellatives  of  the  Lamam  or  Lamanes  tribes  of  California 
Indians,  Laman  is  all,  or  practically  all,  there  is  of  these  names; 
and  from  the  name  Tlal-laman-ac — a  Nahua  god — we  find  that 
the  Nahua  Lamanites  did  not  forget  to  deify  the  founder  of  their 
nation. 

Mulek.  According  to  the  Book  of  Mormon,  Mulek  was  the 
son  of  Zedekiah,  king  of  Judah,  and  emigrated  with  a  company 
of  refugees  from  Jerusalem  to  America  soon  after  Jerusalem  was 
overthrown  by  Nebuchadnezzar.  The  Nephites  of  the  Book  of 
Mormon  history  gave  his  name  to  a  city  and  a  country,  and  his 
descendants  among  the  Indians  deified  him  in  the  Nahuan  god 
named  Muluc.  Such  in  brief  is  the  apparent  history  of  this 
Jewish  prince  from  his  birth  in  Jerusalem  to  a  godship  in  Amer- 
ica. Were  there  Jews  in  America  anciently?  Is  the  Book  of 
Mormon  true?  (See  Omni,  verses  15-19;  Mos.  25:2-4;  Alma  22: 
30-32;  Hela.  6:10  and  8:21,  for  Mulek's  history.) 

Cori.     Cori  does  not  occur  as  an  independent  name  in  the 


670  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

Book  of  Mormon ;  but  we  find  it  in  compounds  as  follows :  Cori- 
anton,  Alma  31:7;  Coriantor,  Eth.  1:6;  Coriantum,  Eth.  1:13; 
Coriantumr,  Omni,  1:21;  and  Corihor,  Eth.  7:3,  and  Korihor, 
Alma  30:12.  Among  Indian  names  in  analogy  we  have  Nacori, 
Coribici  and  Coribizi — the  first  is  the  name  of  a  town,  the  other 
two  the  same  name,  but  spelled  a  little  differently,  and  applied 
to  a  tribe  and  their  language.  Cocori  is  the  name  of  another  In- 
dian town  and  Chori,  evidently  Cori,  in  thin  disguise,  is  the 
name  of  a  second  tribe  and  Mo-cori-to  of  another. 

Shiz  (Eth.  14:17).  To  quiet  the  objection  that  some  may 
propose  that  a  number  of  these  names  are  Jaredic  and  not  Indian 
by  virtue  of  any  apparent  ancestral  use,  it  is  sufficient  to  say  that 
the  Jaredic  names  which  are  found  in  the  Book  of  Ether  be- 
came the  property  of  the  Jewish  people  spoken  of  in  the  other 
portions  of  the  Book  of  Mormon  after  the  records  of  the  Jared- 
ites  were  translated  by  Mosiah  (Mos.  28:17),  and,  consequently, 
for  present  purposes  they  serve  the  same  use  rightfully  as  if 
they  had  been  Hebraic  from  the  beginning.  Shiz  spelled 
with  an  s  instead  of  a  z,  is  found  in  the  Apache  name  Shis-inday. 
Modified  to  Shiza  it  occurs  in  I  Ch.  11:42. 

Mish.  This  termination  occurs  in  the  Nephite  name  Che- 
mish  (Bible,  Carchemish)  and  is  a  very  frequent  termination  in 
Indian  names. 

Mahah  (Eth.  6:14).  An  Indian  goddess  has  the  name 
Mahakh.  But  little  difference  in  the  pronunciation  of  these 
names  is  apparent,  and  the  name  of  the  goddess  is  probably 
merely  a  variant  of  Mahah. 

U.  Some  of  our  younger  readers  have  doubtless  thought 
that  the  Book  of  Mormon  name  Jacob-u-gath  (III  Nep.  9:9) 
was  rather  a  singular  compound  of  Jacob  and  Gath  united  to- 
gether by  the  use  of  u ;  but  let  it  be  remembered  that  U  is  used 
in  the  Indian  compounds  U-Cab-Mam,  U-Cab-Pach,  U-Cab-Tzih, 
and  in  others,  where  the  U,  judging  from  Bancroft's  presentation 
of  the  full  names  as  here  illustrated,  is  evidently  not  a  syllable 
belonging  to  Cab,  but  is  a  term  separable  in  itself  though  used 
in  these  compounds;  and  so  if  one  writes  the  name  in  hand  as 
Jacob-U-Gath,  he  will  see  how  the  Book  of  Mormon  and  the 
Indian  use  of  U  are  in  analogy.  Then,  too,  U  was  a  complete 
word  in  itself  among  the  Maya  Indians.  The  tribal  name  Tarah- 
umara  has  already  been  noticed  under  Tarah.  Tarah  was  the 
name  of  a  desert  encampment  of  the  ancient  Israelites  (Num. 
33:27),  and  Mara  means  "bitter"  (Ruth  1:20).  Now,  if  we  write 
the  name  in  view  thus,  Tarah-U-Mara,  we  shall  see  that  Jacob-U- 
Gath,  where  U  connects  two  independent  names,  is  in  harmony 
with  this  use  of  U  by  Indians  who  also  connected  two  independ- 
ent names  in  the  same  manner. 


A  STUDY  IN  AMERICAN  HEBRAIC  NAMES  671 

Lehi.  A  variant  of  this  familiar  Book  of  Mormon  name  is 
found  in  the  Indian  tribal  name  Hehienimmo,  or  Hehighenimmo 
as  it  may  be  spelled;  and  as  the  name  of  a  river  and  valley  in 
Pennsylvania,  Lehigh  (Lehi)  occurs  uncompounded. 

Ishmael.  The  Book  of  Mormon  informs  us  that  this  name 
was  anciently  applied  to  single  individuals,  and  to  a  whole  peo- 
ple who  were  the  descendants  of  that  Ishmael  who  accompanied 
Lehi  from  Jerusalem  to  America,  and  to  a  land,  or  to  a  portion 
of  the  Nephite  country.  It  is  not  claimed  that  the  Indian  names 
Izamal,  Itzamal  and  Ix(z)mol  are  simply  variants  of  Ishmael; 
but  that  they  are  quite  suggestive  of  having  the  latter  for  a  base 
is  evident;  and  when  one  takes  into  consideration  the  inability 
of  some  Ephraimites  to  give  the  sh  sound  in  names,  the  sugges- 
tion merges  into  quite  a  probability. 

Onihah  and  Onidah.  The  first  of  these  names  was  given  to 
a  city  mentioned  in  the  Book  of  Mormon  (III  Nep.  9:7),  the 
other  to  a  hill  and  a  locality  (Alma  32:4;  47:5).  If  we  take  the 
Quiche  name  for  a  certain  month  which  was  Tzununidah  and 
resolve  it  into  its  evident  components,  we  get  Tzun  for  the  first 
part,  which  was  the  name  of  another  Quiche  month,  and  then 
we  find  that  Unidah  makes  the  second  part  of  the  compound. 
Unidah  varies  so  slightly  from  Onihah  or  Onidah  that  the  dif- 
ference in  orthography  need  scarcely  be  taken  into  considera- 
tion in  this  connection.  Onihah  also  is  compounded  in  Math- 
onihah  (III  Nep.  19:4,  and  in  Moronihah,  Alma  62:43). 

Ahah  (Eth.  1:9).  If  the  reader  will  now  refer  to  remarks 
that  were  made  when  the  name  Oloman  was  under  considera- 
tion, he  will  find  that  Ahau  was  the  name  of  one  of  the  Quiche 
chiefs  who  led  that  people  from  a  far  eastern  country  to  this 
land.  Now,  taking  that  fact  into  account  with  the  other  one 
that  the  Book  of  Mormon  people  also  came  from  a  far  eastern 
country  according  to  their  records,  and  what  ground  is  there 
for  a  plea  that  the  Ahah  of  the  one  people  and  the  Ahau  of  the 
other  are  by  mere  coincidence  so  nearly  alike?  The  one  is  an 
evident  variant  of  the  other.  Ahah  can  be  spelled  with  a  u  for 
the  last  letter,  or  Ahau  with  an  h  for  the  last  one.  May  we  not 
say  that  the  ship  which  brought  one  of  these  names  to  America 
brought  the  other  also.  Ahau  occurs  frequently  in  ancient  Amer- 
ican names,  as  for  instance,  in  Ahau-Cau-Mai,  a  Maya  high  priest. 
Ahau-Chamahez,  a  Maya  god;  Ahau-Quiche,  "the  Royal  fam- 
ily," etc. 

Helem,  Helam,  and  Helaman  (Mos.  7:6;  23:20;  1:2).  These 
are  names  often  used  in  the  Book  of  Mormon.  Two  Indian 
names  only — Nahelem  and  Elemehum-Killanwaist — both  tribal, 
will  be  given  here,  since  the  remarks  made  on  a  former  page, 
when  the  name  Elim  was  considered,  are  applicable  in  this  in- 


672 


IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


stance  also.  The  purpose  then  was  to  show  an  analogy  between 
Biblical  and  Indian  names,  and  now  it  is  to  manifest  a  corre- 
spondence between  Nephite  and  Indian  names. 

Mosiah  (Omni  1:22).  The  Indian  tribal  name  Siah  is  the 
latter  part  of  Mo-siah,  no  variation  occurring. 

Teancum  (Mor.  4:3).    Tecum  is  the  name  of  a  Quiche  chief. 

Kish  (Eth.  1:18;  Hel.  1:9).  Among  the  Book  of  Mormon 
names  Kish  occurs  alone,  and  is  compounded  in  Kishkumen. 

Hamath  (II  Nep.  20:9).  Hamath  is  in  analogy  with  the 
Indian  name  Tamath.  Hamath  in  a  former  reference  occurs  in 
a  quotation  from  Isaiah ;  but  on  account  of  its  use  in  the  Nephite 
records,  it  is  considered  a  Nephite  name. 

Prefixes  and  terminations.  Concluding  now  remarks  re- 
specting whole  names,  it  is  observed  that  prefixes  found  in  Ne 
phite  and  Indian  names  are  in  many  instances  identical;  but 
only  a  few  illustrative  examples  will  be  given.  From  the  Book 
of  Mormon  we  get  Nephi  and  Zenephi  (Moro.  9:16);  Ezrom 
and  Ze-Ezrom  (Alma  11:6;  56:14);  Cumeni  and  Pacumeni 
(Alma  56:14;  Hela.  1:3);  Omner  and  Teomner  (Mos.  27:34; 
Alma  58:16).  Corresponding  prefixes  among  Indian  names  are 
found  in  Lahuh,  a  city,  and  X(z)elahuh,  a  ruler,  or  governor; 
Chan,  a  city  (Palenque),  Pachan,  an  ancestor  of  Votans;  Siahs 
and  Tesiahs,  tribal  names;  Icauhtzin  and  Teicaughtzin,  Quiche 


The  following  list  of  names  taken  from  those  in  use  among 
Book  of  Mormon  peoples  and  a  few  among  the  many  that  are 
Indian,  is  not  specially  intended  to  illustrate  the  use  of  suffixes  in 
common;  but  is  given  to  show  how  the  respective  people  fa- 
vored the  letter  i  as  a  terminal.  Other  letters  preceding  the 
final  i,  as  here  illustrated,  correspond  in  general  to  a  greater  or 
less  extent: 

Indian. 

Zaki. 

Ipalnemoaloni 

Ocki. 

Coribici. 

Kataghayekiki 

Inchini. 

Intzini. 

Oumpini. 

Inbani. 

Suchini,  etc. 

The  Book  of  Mormon  names  in  i  represent  perhaps  ten  per 
centum  of  all  found  in  that  record,  but  while  but  few  on  my 


Nephite. 

Indian. 

Nephite. 

Lehonti. 

Muutzigti. 

Moroni. 

Manti. 

Saragunti. 

Gidgiddoni 

Anti. 

Occabayanti. 

Muloki. 

Onti. 

Olalti. 

Amaleki. 

Gidianhi. 

Interunihi. 

Amlic(k)i. 

Kumenonhi. 

Natsahi. 

Himni. 

Paanchi. 

Sisichii. 

Omni. 

Nephi. 

Situchi. 

Ani. 

Limhi. 

Nochoni. 

Abinadi. 

Mathoni. 

Tlatlanililoni. 

Aminadi. 

Middoni. 

Tlatoani. 

Gadiandi. 

A  STUDY  IN  AMERICAN  HEBRAIC  NAMES  673 

list  correspond  with  the  three  Nephite  names  ending  in  di,  there 
are  terminations  in  Indian  names,  especially  those  of  more  an- 
cient use,  not  only  in  all  the  combination  as  illustrated  by 
the  lists;  but  also  in  ri,  bi,  li,  mi,  ui,  yi,  ai,  pi,  vi,  zi,  etc., 
I  am  certainly  safe  in  saying  that  a  large  proportion  of  ancient 
Indian  names  also  have  i  for  a  terminal  letter. 

Duplications.  Among  Book  of  Mormon  names  the  follow- 
ing show  a  duplication  in  the  compound:  Gidgiddonah,  Gid- 
giddoni,  Gimgimno. 

This  list  of  names  showing  duplications  is  not  a  formidable 
one,  but  if  we  should  find  a  boy  or  two  having  Thomthom  for 
his  first  name,  and  another  who  was  christened  Jimjim,  these 
few  would  attract  some  attention  every  time  the  school-roll  was 
called,  and  they  are  enough  upon  which  to  base  an  analogy  be- 
tween Nephite  and  Indian  names  in  respect  to  the  point  in  hand. 
Among  the  more  numerous  examples  found  among  the  latter  are 
Kinikkinik,  Hunhunapu,  Yaxtaxitaxitanne, — the  name  of  an 
Apache  god;  Roilroilpam,  Belbellah,  Tootooton,  Wallawalla, 
Ivooskooskia,  Huehuetlapalan. 

Though  not  belonging  to  the  Book  of  Mormon  nomen- 
clature, some  remarks  now  follow  under  the  name 

Votan  (Lotan,  a  Horonite  duke.  Gen.  36:20-29).  Votan 
was  a  Maya  god.  "He  is  said  to  have  been  a  descendant  of  Noah, 
and  to  have  assisted  at  the  building  of  the  Tower  of  Babel. 
After  the  confusion  of  tongues  he  led  a  portion  of  the  dispersed 
people  to  America.  There  he  established  the  kingdom  of 
Xibalba  and  built  the  city  of  Palenque"  (Native  Races,  Vol. 
V,  pp.  27-28).  "Votan  asserts  that  he  is  a  descendant  of  Imox, 
of  the  race  of  Chan,  and  derives  his  origin  from  Chivim.  'He 
states  that  he  conducted  seven  families  from  Valum  Votan  to 
this  continent  and  assigned  lands  to  them.'  "  *  *  *  "Cabrera 
supposes  Chivim  to  be  the  same  as  Hivim  or  Givim,  which  was 
the  name  of  the  country  from  which  the  Hivites,  descendants  of 
Heth,  son  of  Canaan,  were  expelled  by  the  Philistines  some  years 
before  the  departure  of  the  Hebrews  from  Egypt"  (Native 
Races,  Vol.  V,  pp.  69,  70).  "It  appears  by  the  calendar"  (Chia- 
panec)  "that  Imox,  sometimes  called  Mox,  and  occasionally 
Ninus,  was  the  first  settler  in  Chiapas.  According  to  the  worthy 
prelate  above  mentioned,"  (Bishop  Nunez  de  la  Vega)  "this 
Ninus  was  the  son  of  Belo,  who  was  the  son  of  Nimrod,  who  was 
the  son  of  Chus,  who  was  the  grandson  of  Cham"  (Ibid,  p.  605). 

Speaking  directly  respecting  what  is  given  in  the  first  of  the 
foregoing  quotations,  Mr.  Bancroft  refers  to  the  legend  as  a 
"wild  speculation;"  but  all  these  quotations  made  intensely  in- 
teresting reading  for  believers  in  the  Book  of  Mormon  as  the 
word  of  God.     In  the  Book  of  Ether  that  record  gives  an  ac- 


674  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

count  of  the  migration  of  the  Jaredites  from  the  Tower  of  Babel 
legions,  and  their  settlement,  etc.,  in  this  land. 

Colob.  Furthermore,  the  name  C(k)olob,  heretofore 
passed,  shows  that  to  the  extent  to  which  that  name  supplies 
evidence, — not  insignificant  by  any  means — the  Book  of  Abra- 
ham sustains  the  theory  that  the  Indians  are  of  Jewish  origin, 
since  that  book  was  written  by  the  father  of  the  Jews,  and  the 
Indians  have  used  a  significant  name  found  in  his  work,  or,  re- 
versing the  proposition,  since  many  names  in  use,  or  that  have 
been  in  use,  among  the  Indians  manifest  that  they  are  Hebraic, 
the  Book  of  Abraham  is  Hebraic  also,  but  other  analogical  evi- 
dence is  at  hand  to  strengthen  that  supplied  by  the  name  Colob. 
The  Book  of  Abraham  uses  the  name  Enish-go-On-Dosh.  The 
first  part  of  this  name  occurs  in  several  tribal  names  in  variant 
form,  as  follows:  Spokehnish, — ehnish;  Spokihnish, — ihnish; 
Shopunish, — unish ;  Wickinninish, — inish. 

Raukeeyang.  This  name  is  explained  in  the  Book  of  Abra- 
ham as  meaning  expanse.  It  evidently  has  an  Hebraic  base, 
though  Egyptian.  The  Hebrew  word  for  firmament  or  expanse, 
according  to  Young's  Concordance,  is  pronounced  raqia;  the 
Standard  Dictionary  gives  rakia;  the  Encyc.  Brit,  has  raqiya, 
and  others  give  raukia. 

Lish.  Another  name  found  in  the  same  book  is  Oliblish. 
The  last  syllable  of  Oliblish  occurs  in  Sinpoilish,  Sinspeelish, 
Sintootoolish,  all  tribal  names. 

Ondi.  In  the  Doctrine  and  Covenants,  Sec.  75:15;  117:8, 
11,  we  find  the  name  Adam-ondi-Ahman.  In  this  name  ondi 
does  not  seem  to  have  a  significance  so  great  as  the  first  and  third 
parts  of  the  compound  do.  In  harmony  with  this  supposition 
ondi  occupies  an  apparently  subordinate  position  in  the  Indian 
name  Anayicoyondi,  a  goddess  (Pericuii),  and  in  the  Nephite 
name,  Gadiandi,  we  have  andi,  apparently  a  slight  variant  of 
ondi. 

Having  thus  shown  how  names  in  the  Doctrine  and  Cove- 
nants, the  Book  of  Abraham,  the  Book  of  Mormon,  and  the 
Bible  all  show  a  relationship,  more  or  less  clearly  manifest,  to 
Indian  names,  the  purpose  to  continue  remarks  (as  stated  be- 
fore) relative  to  certain  peculiarities  among  the  Hebrews  in 
the  use  of  language,  will  now  be  attended  to ;  and  first  respecting 
the  omission  of  the  sound  of  the  letter  s  by  the  tribe  of  Ephraim, 
in  general,  whenever  it  occurs  in  connection  with  h  as  sh.  In 
analogy  therewith  we  have  among  Indian  names  the  following: 
Shikinna,  Siwinna,  Moqui  village;  Shucu,  Xucu,  tribal  name; 
Shastas,  Sastes,  tribal  name;  Shahaptans,  Sahaptans,  tribal 
name;  Shebassas,  Sebassas,  tribal  name;  Shistakoostas,  Sista- 
coostats,  tribal  name;  Shocomish,  Skocomish,  tribal  name; 
Vesnacks,  Veshanacks,  tribal  name.     Then,  further,  Ssalayme, 


A  STUDY  IN  AMERICAN  HEBRAIC  NAMES  675 

Ssichitca,  Sspudca,  Ssiti,  S'slomamish,    Ssogereate,    Ssupichum 
are  tribal  names  also. 

The  Spaniards  called  some  of  the  Indians  whom  they  met 
in  early  times  "Mames,"  that  is,  "stutterers."  These  were  Maya- 
speaking  tribes  whom  they  found  in  possession  of  portions  of  the 
southern  countires  (Native  Races,  Vol.  V,  p.  563). 

It  is  not  a  stretch  of  one's  imagination  at  all  to  suppose 
that  the  Ss  sound  in  the  last  seven  names  of  the  foregoing  list 
was  heard  when  some  Indian  Ephraimites  tried  to  pronounce 
names  in  Sh,  and  so  the  Spaniards  appropriately  called  them 
"stutterers." 

Furthermore,  the  Aztecs  had  a  lingual  trade-mark  on  the 
use  of  the  combination  of  letters  Tl.  Examples  in  Tl  have 
already  been  given  in  sufficient  numbers.  What  letter  or  letters 
this  combination  represented  no  one  likely  knows;  but  if  one 
centuries  ago  should  have  heard  some  of  the  American  Ephraim- 
ites trying  to  pronounce  the  Hebrew  name  Shalim  (1  Sam.  9:4), 
it  might  have  sounded  a  good  deal  like  Tlali(m),  and  Shalisha 
(Ibid)  like  Tlal-i-tza;  Shelemiah  (1  Ch.  26:14)  like  Tlel-emiah; 
Shilhi  like  Tlil-hi;  Shilshah  like  Tlilt-zah,  and  so  on. 

Transposition  of  letters  have  been  proposed  in  a  few  of  the 
names  that  have  been  passed  upon  in  these  remarks.  For  trans- 
position there  is  a  warrant  found  in  other  Indian  names,  as,  for 
examples:  Achiotl,  Achiolt,  name  of  plant;  Alaska,  Alaks(u)a; 
Macaoaquez,  Macoaquez,  tribal  names. 

The  transposition,  or  change  in  position,  of  syllables  that 
has  been  suggested  is  in  analogy  with:  Tlapallanconco,  Little 
Tlapalan;  Huehuetlapallan,  Old  Tlapalan;  Teoamoxtli,  Book  of 
God;  Centeotl,  Na.  goddess;  Coaxolotl,  Temple;  Xolotlan,  Nic. 
name;  Chiuchin,  tribal  name;  Chinigchinich,  Acag.  god; 
Coatlyace,  Na.  goddess;  Cioacoatl,  Na.  goddess;  Holon-Chan- 
Tepeuh,  A  man's  name;  Tepeu-Yaqui,  Qui.  title. 

Substitution  for  various  letters  have  also  been  proposed ;  but 
variations  of  this  nature  are  frequently  found  in  Indian  names, 
as,  Apasco,  Apazco,  Az.  station;  Atengo,  Atenco,  Az.  station; 
Cabogh,  Cahogh,  Tzen.  day;  Evob,  Enob,  Tzen.  day;  Gabilanes, 
Gavilanes,  tribal  name;  Gagavitz,  Hacavitz,  Mts. ;  Jupis,  Yupe.;, 
Apache  tribe;  Xolabah,  Xoyabah,  Mts.;  Sapatotots,  Lapatotots, 
tribal  name;  J  opes,  Lopis,  Na.  station;  Tlanotlac,  Tlaylotlac, 
Na.  judge;  Tinneh,  Dinneh,  Tribal  name;  Tzinteotl,  Tzinteutl, 
Na.  goddess;  Achcauhtzin,  Axcauhtzin,  Chi.  king;  Icauhtzin, 
Achcauhtzin,  Chi.  king;  Volvon,  Bolbon,  Mts. 

Many  other  variations  of  this  character  occur,  but  they  are 
generally  consonental. 

In  some  instances,  letters  are  omitted,  (or  added),  as  we 
find  in  Tlacatecatl,  Tacatcatl,  Na.  judge;  Xicalles,  Xicali,  Gourd 


676  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

vessels;  Tzacatecatl,  Tzacatcatl,  Na.  king;  Tlahuicol,  Tlalhuicol, 
A  Tlas.  general;  Tzentipac,  Tzenticpac,  A  town;  Tzoalli,  Tzoali, 
A  kind  of  dough;  Tzinacautla,  Tzinacautlan,  A  town;  Tulpetlac, 
Tultepetlac,  Az.  station;  Ixtlilton,  Ixtliton,  Na.  god. 

In  ancient  Indian  names  sometimes  one  vowel  is  substituted 
for  another,  as  in  Tlaolli,  Tlaulli,  dried  corn;  Temoanchan, 
Tamoanchan,  Na.  name;  Cioacoatl,  Ciuacoatl,  Na.  goddess; 
Tzinteotl,  Tzinteutl,  a  town. 

U  is  thus  used  apparently  more  frequently  than  any  of  the 
other  vowels. 

Finally,  were  we  to  avail  ourselves  to  the  fullest  extent  of 
the  liberty  in  this  investigation,  which  these  variants  manifest 
as  occurring  in  Indian  names,  many  others  could  be  added  to  the 
already  long  list  of  Americano-Hebraic  names  that  have  been 
submitted, — to  cite  one  example  only,  Yutahkah  (Yutah-yah) 
which  is  a  name  for  the  Navajos. 


Be  Contented 


(Selected) 


Life  is  one  continued  struggle;  from  our  birth  the  strife  extends; 
Though  we  find  some  peaceful  moments — still  the  .struggle  never  ends. 
Many  pains  and  many  bruises;  many  burning  tears  are  shed — 
We  must  fight  if  we  want  freedom;  we  must  toil  if  we  want  bread. 

Bravely  face  each  situation,  though  it  be  so  hard  to  bear — 
Each  man  has  an  equal  portion — every  woman  has  her  share. 
If  the  world  seems  cold  and  cruel,  don't  despair  nor  sigh  in  vain; 
Try  and  smile,  and  look  contented — you  will  soon  be  right  again. 

Thank  the  Lord  for  all  his  blessing;  force  your  spirits  to  arise; 
If   you're   always   sad    and    gloomy   very   few   will    sympathize. 
Sadness  spreads  in  all  directions,  gladness  spreads  far  quicker  still, 
Hide  away  your  little  worries,  though  it  be  a  bitter  pill. 

Smiles  are  like  the  rays  of  sunshine  flashing  on  a  flowing  stream 
In  a  thousand  bright  reflections — dazzling,  wonderful,  supreme. 
Try  and  smile  on  all  occasions — watch  how  easily  it  blends    - 
You  will  find  your  load  seems  lighter,  and  you'll  soon  have  many  friends. 

— Pearson's  JFeekly. 


Food  Production  and  Conservation 
In  Utah 


By  Dr.  E.  G.  Peterson,  President  Utah  Agricultural  College 


In  order  to  meet  the  present  national  emergency  and  espe- 
cially in  view  of  the  present  and  threatened  shortage  of  food,  it 
is  necessary  that  every  possible  effort  be  made  by  the  people 
of  Utah  to  produce  more  food  and  forage  and  to  adopt  measures 
of  conservation  which  will  extend  the  usefulness  of  our  supply. 

We  are  remote  from  the  active  scenes  of  war,  living  as  we 
do  in  a  very  inaccessible  part  of  the  civilized  world,  possibly  the 
most  inaccessible  from  the  standpoint  of  physical  invasion.  We 
consequently  feel  only  remotely  the  pressure  of  war.  The  fact 
is,  however,  that  we  are  at  war  and  are  partners  in  the  greatest 
of  all  world  conflicts  in  the  interest  of  freedom.  We  must  re- 
joice or  suffer  with  that  great  part  of  humanity  who  are  now 
our  allies.  Our  food  must  be  shared  with  them,  as  well  as  with 
our  fellow  countrymen.  We  must  sustain  ourselves  and  raise  in 
such  abundance  that  we  can  feed  a  vast  army  to  be  raised  in  our 
own  land  and  the  armies  and  civilians  of  those  nations  who  fight 
with  us. 

A  state-wide  organization,  encouraged  by  proclamation 
from  the  Governor's  office,  has  been  perfected  in  Utah  and  at 
work  actively  in  each  county  since  April  10.  The  organization 
consists  essentially  of  a  chairman  in  each  county  who  has 
grouped  around  himself  a  committee  with  representatives  from 
the  important  localities  in  each  county.  The  first  meeting  of 
the  State-wide  organization,  which  will  work  in  the  present 
emergency  under  the  title  of  "Committee  on  Food  Production 
and  Conservation,"  was  held  at  the  Utah  Agricultural  College 
at  Logan  on  April  10.  At  that  time  the  Committee  decided  upon 
the  following  method  of  procedure.  The  county  chairman  in 
each  county  was  to  organize  as  indicated  above.  He  was  to  se- 
cure, if  possible,  an  appropriation  of  $500.00  from  the  county 
commissioners  with  which  to  employ  an  emergency  county  agri- 
cultural agent,  at  a  reasonable  wage,  providing  there  was  not 
already  a  county  agent  and  a  farm  bureau  in  the  county.  The 
county  agricultural  agent  was  immediately  to  secure,  if  possible, 
a  small  appropriation  from  each  town  or  city  in  the  county 
(from  the  city  council)    with  which  to  employ   garden  super- 


678  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

visors  for  three  months  at  least,  one  in  each  of  the  larger  towns. 
The  garden  supervisors  should  immediately  begin  organizing  the 
boys  and  girls,  and  older  people  where  agreeable,  into  clubs  for 
the  production  of  easily  stored  garden  crops  such  as  onions, 
potatoes,  beans,  carrots  and  turnips. 

The  emergency  county  agent,  as  well  as  the  regular  county 
agent,  immediately  began  a  campaign  throughout  the  county  to 
emphasize  especially  the  following  points: 

Increase  the  Live  Stock. 

1.  Use  greater  discrimination  in  the  selection  of  cattle,  of  both  the 
dairy  and  beef  types. 

2.  Develop  farm  flocks  of  sheep. 

3.  Raise  more  hogs. 

4.  Make  a  bigger  business  of  farm  poultry. 

5.  Conserve  all  feeds. 

6.  Feed  carefully  and  economically. 

7.  Give  animals  proper  care. 
Increase  Production  on  the  Dry-Farm. 

1.  Encourage  the  planting  of  fallow  land  to  corn,  potatoes,  beans,  or 
other  cultivated  crops. 

2.  Where  moisture  conditions  will  permit  plant  spring  barley,  oats, 
and  wheat. 

3.  Encourage  the  building  of  silos  and  the  growing  of  silage  crops,  as 
a  means  of  producing  more  and  cheaper  feeds. 

4.  Urge  the  testing  of  all  seeds,  and  plant  only  the  best  obtainable. 
Increase  Production  on  the  Irrigated  Farm. 

1.  Utilize  all  waste  places  by  planting  standard  crops  on  the  best  land, 
and  sweet  clover  and  rye  on  the  poorer  land. 

2.  Encourage  the  boys  and  girls  to  utilize  all  the  vacant  lots  and  yards 
in  the  cities  and  country,  by  planting  to  onions,  beans,  sugar  beets, 
tomatoes,  etc. 

3.  Encourage  a  greater  interest  in  home  gardening,  so  that  each  family 
may  be  provided  with  sufficient  vegetables  for  home  use. 

4.  In  young  orchards  plant  such  crops  as  beans,  potatoes,  sugar  beets, 
tomatoes,  carrots,  mangels,  and  garden  crops;  in  the  old  orchards 
plant  rape,  clover,  oats  and  peas,  rape  and  barley,  or  rape  and  oats 
for  forage  and  pasture. 

Conserve  all  Products  of  the  Farm  and  Garden. 
Eliminate  all  Waste  in  the  Home  and  on  the  Farm. 
Encourage  each  Community  to  be  Self-Supporting. 

In  the  larger  effort  to  produce  more,  let  us  not  forget  the 
obligation  to  save  more.  We  should  now,  above  all  other  times, 
be  abstemious  in  eating.  Do  not  over  eat.  We  should  discard 
the  extravagant  and  injurious  foods.  Stimulants  and  narcotics, 
such  as  alcoholic  drinks,  tea,  and  coffee,  should  be  discarded  as 
wasteful,  if  for  no  other  reason.  All  food,  and  fats  especially, 
should  be  conserved — not  thrown  away.  Candy  eating  should  be 
cut  to  a  very  low  minimum.  Chewing  gum  is  unnecessary.  Old 
clothing  should  be  renovated  where  possible.  An  effort  should 
be  made  to  do  with  fewer  neckties,  shoes,  shirts  and  in  some 
cases,  hats. 

The  following  are  the  expenditures  in  America  each  year 


FOOD  PRODUCTION  AND  CONSERVATION  679 

for  worthless   and   harmful   stimulants,   narcotics,   intoxicating 
liquors,  and  luxuries: 

Tobacco  $  1,200,000,000 

Jewelry  and  plate 800,000,000 

Confectionery  200,000,000 

Tea    and   coffee 100,000,000 

Chewing  gum  13,000,000 

Intoxicating  liquors  2,200,000,000 

The  total  reaches  the  truly  stupefying  sum  of  $4,513,000,000. 
Adoption  of  the  "Word  of  Wisdom"  by  the  United  States  would 
save  the  county  $3,500,000,000  each  year.  And  this  overwhelm- 
ing figure  does  not  include  the  much  larger  gain  which  would 
come  from  greater  efficiency  on  the  part  of  the  workers  from 
abstaining  from  stimulants  and  narcotics.  The  increase  in  pro- 
duction would  probably  increase  the  figure  mentioned  ten  fold. 

In  the  farm  practice  the  young  folks  should  learn  how  to 
can  and  preserve  vegetables,  fruits  and  meats  and  an  ample  sup- 
ply of  these  should  be  stored  in  every  Utah  home.  Let  ua  fill  our 
pits  and  pantries  and  cellars  with  an  ample  supply  for  the  very 
serious  times  which  may  be  ahead  of  us.  And  in  this  economy 
we  can  save  much  that  is  usually  wasted.  Windfall  apples  and 
other  fruits,  excess  vegetables  and  meats  can,  by  very  simple 
methods,  be  canned  so  that  they  are  very  appetizing  and  nutri- 
tious. Instructions  in  all  these  lines  of  work  have  been  sent 
broadcast  throughout  the  State  and  will  be  furnished  free  by 
the  Extension  Division  of  the  Agricultural  College,  at  Logan, 
Utah. 

The  following  men  are  designated  as  the  leaders  in  their 
counties  in  the  present  emergency.  The  county  chairman,  in 
the  counties  where  there  are  farm  bureaus,  are  asked  to  co- 
operate with  the  farm  bureaus  and  keep  the  executive  secretary 
of  the  committee  informed  of  anything  that  can  be  designed  to 
help  in  the  general  movement: 

R.  S.  Collett,  Roosevelt;  C.  R.  Marcussen,  Price;  H.  H.  Blood,  Kaysville; 
J.jmes  Houston,  Panguitch;  A.  H.  Belliston,  Nephi;  fin.  Seegmiller,  Kanab; 
Daniel  Heiner,  Morgan;  J.  E.  Peterson,  Circleville;  G.  H.  Robinson,  Lake- 
town;  R.  D.  Young,  Richfield;  L.  R.  Anderson,  Manti;  L.  H.  Redd,  Grayson; 
Moses  W.  Taylor,  Coalville;  C.  Alvin  Orme,  Tooele;  Don  B.  Colton,  Vernal; 
E.  H.  Snow,  St.  George;  Joseph  Eckersley,  Loa;  J.  R.  Murdock,  Heber; 
John  P.  Holmgren,  Bear  River:  W.  W.  Farrer,  Beaver;  Ephraim  Burgeson, 
Cornish;  H.  A.  Nelson,  Ferron;  F.  B.  Hammond,  Moab;  John  U.  Webster, 
Cedar  City;  Dean  F.  Peterson,  Delta;  W.  C.  Winder,  Salt  Lake;  John  W. 
Alleman,  Springville;  D.  D.  McKay,  Huntsville. 

The  following  county  chairmen  of  the  Agricultural  College 
are  putting  their  influence  back  of  the  farm  bureau  presidents, 
in  order  to  make  the  campaign  effective: 


680 


IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


W.  S.  Hansen,  Collinston;  S.  O.  White,  Beaver;  Lars  P.  Oveson,  Castle- 
dale;  L.  N.  Marsden,  Parowan;  John  Reeve,  Hinckley;  John  Halls,  Hunts- 
\ille;  E.  W.  Southwick,  Lehi. 

It  is  thought  that  Utah,  through  its  Church  organization,  can 
more  effectively  meet  the  present  apparent  emergency  than  any 
other  state  in  the  Union.     Let  us  prove  ourselves  worthy  to  be 
called  sons  and  daughters  of  the  Pioneers. 
Logan,  Utah 


Copyright  by  Underwood  &  Underwood,  N.  Y. 
DESOLATIONS  OF  WAR 

This  is  one  of  the  first  photographs  connected  with  the  German  retreat 
in  France  to  reach  this  country. 

As  fast  as  the  Germans  retreated,  in  their  recent  wholesale  evacuation 
in  France,  the  French  engineers  rushed  in  and  started  to  repair  the  horrors 
inflicted  upon  the  towns  for  "military  purposes." 

The  photograph  shows  an  army  of  engineers  at  work  in  the  streets  of 
Noyon,  one  of  the  French  towns  vacated  by  the  Germans. 

The  photograph  gives  an  idea  of  the  apparently  unneeded  havoc  and 
ruin  wreaked  on  the  town.  The  picture  is  the  signal  of  the  new  era  that  is 
sweeping  over  Europe.  Let  us  pray  that  the  desolation  and  ruin  may  soon 
stop,  and  labor  to  the  end  that  the  might  of  the  world  will  be  turned  to  the, 
greater  and  nobler  work  of  reconstruction. 


The  First  Farm  in  Dry  Valley* 


By  Elsie  Chamberlain  Carroll 


"Guess  I'll  see  if  I  can  get  Lem  Watkins  to  help  with  the 
spring  work.  We  ought  to  begin  plowing  right  away.  If  this 
weather  keeps  up  it  won't  be  long  till  we  can  put  in  the  early 
crops."  Jerry  Mortimer  addressed  the  family  in  general  as  he 
sat  down  a  little  late  to  the  breakfast  table.  The  old  man  at 
the  other  end  of  the  table  looked  up  in  surprise. 

"Why,  we  don't  need  anybudy,  do  we,  Jerry?  Ain't  we 
always  got  along  with  the  spring  work  ourselves?" 

The  younger  man  hesitated  a  moment  as  he  helped  himself 
to  the  brown  hash.  He  might  as  well  have  it  out  with  father, 
he  argued  with  himself.  He  had  hoped  the  old  man  would  be 
able  to  see  how  things  were  without  him  having  to  explain. 

"Well, — you  see,  father,  you — you  ought  not  to  work  in  the 
fields  any  more.  You're  getting  too  old.  And  besides  you  have 
had  the  rheumatism  extra  bad  this  winter.  There's  more  work 
than  Fred  and  Jim  and  I  can  do,  and  of  course  Johnny  is  too 
young  to  help.  Lem  is  a  good  hand,  so  I  thought  we  might  as 
well  get  him  before  someone  else  does.  You've  had  your  day 
of  hard  work  in  the  fields,  so  it's  time  you  had  a  chance  to  stay 
in  and  rest  and  enjoy  yourself."  Jerry  began  briskly  on  his 
hash,  complimenting  himself  that  he  had  rather  cleverly  handled 
a  delicate  problem. 

The  faded,  grey  eyes  across  the  table  stared  for  a  moment 
uncomprehendingly,  but  only  for  a  moment.  The  old  eyes  were 
not  as  keen  as  they  had  once  been,  it  is  true.  Neither  did  the 
old  man's  mind  work  as  rapidly  as  in  his  earlier  days,  but  the 
eves  were  still  keen  enough,  the  mind  was  still  quick  enough  to 
grasp  the  meaning  back  of  the  son's  words.  A  slow  flush  crept 
over  the  wrinkled  face,  and  the  toil-worn  hand  trembled  a  little 
as  it  pushed  the  plate  back  on  the  table. 

"Stay  in  the  house  and  rest  and  enjoy  himself"  when  the 
rich  brown  earth,  new  from  its  winter's  sleep,  was  calling  him 
with  its  smell  of  loamy  dampness,  and  its  tender,  sprouting  green 
grass  blades  and  tiny  opening  leaflets?  "Stay  in  the  house  and 
enjoy  yourself"  when  the  meadowlarks  were  pouring  their  liquid 
sweetness  into  the  fresh  spring  air  from  every  budding  willow 


*This  story  was  awarded  first  place  in  the  February,  1917,  Improvement 
Era  story  contest. 


682  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

clump,  and  the  frogs  were  croaking  their  throaty  medleys  from 
every  nog  in  the  meadow?  "Stay  in  the  house  and  enjoy  him- 
self" when  his  own  blood  was  tingling  with  the  sublime  miracle 
of  spring,  just  as  he  could  remember  it  tingling  with  all  the 
springs  of  his  seventy  active  years? 

The  red  on  the  sunken  cheeks  grew  deeper.  There  was  no 
doubt  as  to  Jerry's  meaning.  The  father  had  seen  a  foreboding 
shadow  of  this  day,  away  last  fall  when  one  afternoon  the  damp- 
ness of  the  newly  plowed  field  had  made  him  limp  with  the 
rheumatism,  and  Jerry  had  insisted  on  his  going  to  the  house. 
He  had  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  unwelcome  spectre  of  old  age 
and  outgrown  usefulness  then,  but  he  had  pushed  the  tantalizing 
image  from  him  with  a  determined  hand.  But  there  was  no 
turning  from  its  grim  features  now. 

"Here,  grandpa,  have  another  biscuit.  Why,  you  haven't 
eaten  your  egg!  Is  anything  the  matter?"  His  daughter-in- 
law,  all  unconscious  of  the  tragedy  going  on  there,  at  the  end 
of  the  table,  passed  the  bread  plate  to  him. 

"No,  they  ain't  nothing  the  matter,  Molly,  but  somehow  I 
don't  feel  very  hungry  this  morning.  Guess  I'll  go  out  and  walk 
about  a  bit." 

"Well,  be  careful  and  not  get  your  feet  damp.  You  don't 
want  another  spell  of  rheumatism,"  she  called  after  him  as  he 
shuffled  from  the  room. 

"Yes,  I'll  go  right  over  and  see  about  getting  Lem,"  Jerry 
remarked  as  the  old  man's  bent  form  passed  the  window.  I 
should  have  got  someone  a  year  or  so  ago.  I  really  didn't  realize 
how  old  and  feeble  father  was  getting.  He  always  seemed  to 
enjoy  the  work.  Well,  he's  going  to  have  it  easier  from  now 
on." 

Jeremiah  Mortimer  stood  looking  over  the  land  into  which 
he  had  sown  the  energy  and  wisdom  and  faith  of  an  active  life. 
The  familiar  stretches  of  brown  earth  seemed  suddenly  to  have 
grown  strange  to  him.  This  was  no  longer  his  farm;  it  was 
Jerry's.  He  was  no  longer  needed  in  the  operation  of  it.  The 
realization  gave  him  a  dull  pain.  One  after  another  he  regarded 
the  landmarks  of  his  toilsome,  sacrificing  years,  yet  withal, 
happy  years  because  they  were  filled  with  activity  and  useful- 
ness. There  was  the  old  granary  where  he  and  Harriet  had 
commenced  housekeeping  fifty  years  ago.  There  were  the  apple 
trees  and  pear  trees  and  currant  bushes  they  had  set  out  that 
first  year.  There  was  the  old  well  and  the  milk-house  and  tool- 
shop,  and  even  the  miniature  fort  he  had  built  for  Jerry  when 
he  was  a  little  chap  of  seven.  These  objects  had  always  seemed 
a  part  of  his  very  life  before,  but  now  they  stared  at  him  mock- 


THE  FIRST  FARM  IN  DRY  VALLEY  683 

ingly,  reminding  him  in  their  unchanging  utility,  of  his  own 
vanished  usefulness. 

He  had  wandered  down  through  the  orchard,  past  the 
garden-plot  to  the  fence  dividing  the  meadow  land  from  the 
stretches  of  hare  fields.  He  leaned  listlessly  against  the  meadow 
hars  and  stared  before  him  unseeingly.  Life,  which  had  always 
seemed  so  sweet  a  thing  to  him,  had  suddenly  become  a  desolate, 
empty  void;  a  period  of  dreary  waiting  for  the  end.  The  dull 
pain  grew  to  an  aching  numbness.  He  hoped  the  waiting  would 
not  be  long.  He  was  ready  now  for  the  uncertainties  of  the 
Great  Beyond — now  that  his  usefulness  was  past.  A  mist  was 
gathering  in  the  faded  grey  eyes.  He  hoped  Harriet  would  be 
waiting  for  him  there  on  the  other  side. 

"Why,  hello  Gramp!  I  didn't  know  you  wuz  down  here. 
Did  ye  see  my  butterfly?  It  had  big  brown  wings  with  yeller 
slreaks.  I  been  a  chasm'  him  clean  down  frum  the  upper 
pasture.  Gee!  but  ain't  it  a  bully  day?"  and  nine-year-old 
Johnny  lifted  his  freckled  face  and  seemed  to  fill  himself  with 
the  fresh  sweetness  of  the  April  morning. 

The  old  man  had  started  at  his  grandson's  unexpected  ap- 
pearance. With  one  horny  hand  he  wiped  the  mist  from  his 
eyes  and  looked  down  into  the  animated  little  face  upraised  to 
his.  But  he  did  not  speak  for  a  moment  and  Johnny  chat- 
tered on. 

"I  seen  a  bluejay  this  mornin'  and  two  robins  an'  I  heard  a 
meader  lark  over  by  the  south  hedge.  An'  say,  Gramp,  ole 
Dominick's  got  a  nest  up  in  the  hay  with  'leven  eggs  in  it  an'  she's 
settin'  on  'em.  How  long  is  it  takes  the  little  biddies  to  git  in 
the  eggs?"  The  youngster  had  not  noticed  anything  unusual  in 
his  grandfather,  and  this  fact  made  the  old  man  feel  more  like 
himself. 

"It  takes  three  weeks,  Johnny,"  and  the  aching  tenseness  in 
grandpa's  throat  began  to  relax. 

"Gee!  I  wisht  I  knew  how  long  she's  been  settin'.  I  like 
to  watch  the  little  chicks  come  out,  don't  you,  Gramp?"  There 
was  a  little  pause  and  then  Johnny  chattered  on,  "Say,  but 
ain't  this  the  bulliest  day?  I  like  spring  betterin'  any  time.  It 
makes  a  feller  feel  like  gittin'  right  down  an'  diggin'  in  the  dirt 
with  his  hands,  and  hunt  fer  baby  plants  an'  smell  the  earth  an' 
— even  taste  it.     Spring  sure  is  bully!" 

Then  a  tiny  shadow  settled  on  the  small  face  as  Johnny  dug 
the  toe  of  his  well-worn  shoe  into  the  soft  dirt.  His  next  words 
came  after  a  short  silence,  and  were  spoken  wistfully.  "I  wisht 
I  had  a  garden.  Daddy  give  Jim  one  two  years  ago,  an'  now 
he's  goin'  t'  let  Fred  have  a  piece  up  in  the  north  field  all  fer 
hisself.     Sam  Kirk's  pa's  goin'  t'  give  Sam  some  land  and  so  is 


684  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

Bill  Harding's,  an'  Ted  an'  Tom  Peters  is  goin'  to  have  a  hull 
strip  t'  do  jist  what  they  please  with."  The  big  blue  eyes  looked 
longingly  across  the  stretches  of  brown  earth  waiting  for  the 
tiller's  hand. 

"Daddy  says  I'm  too  little  to  be  anything  but  a  nuisance  on 
the  farm,"  the  little  fellow  explained  with  a  sigh. 

Something  gripped  the  old  man's  heart  as  he  looked  down 
sympathetically  into  the  face  of  this  little  partner  in  suffering 
uselessness.  The  child's  disappointment  suddenly  loomed  up 
as  of  vastly  greater  importance  than  his  own.  His  eyes  turned 
again  to  the  broad  stretch  of  fields — and  there  was  not  one  little 
corner  for  them!  His  gaze  drifted  beyond  the  field  to  the 
bounding  hillside.  Then  it  seemed  to  penetrate  to  the  other 
side  of  that  hill;  to  a  broad  valley — great  waiting  tracts  of  un- 
touched, inviting  lands.  It  was  Dry  Valley.  Something  stirred 
in  the  old  man's  memory.  It  was  a  vision  he  had  once  had  in 
the  old  busy  years,  when  once  he  had  read  an  article  on  "Dry- 
farming  in  the  West."  He  had  seen  Dry  Valley  transformed  into 
waving  grain  fields.  But  it  had  only  been  one  of  the  unful- 
filed,  fleeting  visions  of  his  active,  useful  years. 

He  stood  very  still  now  as  the  vision  flashed  back  with  vivid 
clearness.  His  blood,  which  had  been  coursing  through  his  body 
with  numbing  pain,  suddenly  went  rioting  with  the  realization 
that  the  vision  had  not  been  an  impossible  one.  He  had  read 
olher  articles  on  dry-farming  since  that  time.  He  had  actually 
heard  of  dry-farming  in  the  northern  part  of  the  state.  Why 
could  it  not  be  done  in  the  southern  part  as  well?  Strangely 
the  vision  took  the  form  of  a  wonderful  purpose.  He  felt  as 
young  as  the  boy  beside  him. 

"Johnny!"  he  exclaimed  impulsively,  "what  do  you  say  if  we 
go  over  on  to'ther  side  of  that  hill  an'  make  us  a  farm?" 

"Jerry,  ye  goin'  t'  be  usin'  Dobbin  an'  the  light  wagon  to- 
day?" It  was  two  weeks  later,  and  the  Mortimers  were  again 
a*,  the  breakfast  table. 

"Why,  I  guess  not,  father.     Why?" 

"I  thought  mebbe  Johnny  an'  me  could  take  'em  an'  go  to 
town.     We  ain't  either  of  us  been  fer  quite  a  spell." 

"Why,  sure  you  can  take  'em,"  Jerry  answered  a  little  puz- 
zled at  his  father's  unusual  manner  as  well  as  at  the  unusual  re- 
quest.    "But  wouldn't  the  surrey  be  better  for  a  pleasure  trip?" 

"I  reckon  I'm  old-fashioned,"  grandpa  replied  with  a  little 
chuckle,  but  I  always  would  ruther  ride  in  a  wagon  than  any 
fancy  contraption.  Besides  the  girls  or  Molly  might  want  the 
surrey  'fore  we  git  back.  Maybe  we'll  decide  to  make  a  hull 
day  of  it,  seem'  yer  not  needin'  Dobbin.  Johnny,"  grandpa  con- 
tinued as  he  arose  from  the  table,  "you  better  git  yer  ma  to  put 


THE  FIRST  FARM  IN  DRY  VALLEY  685 

us  up  some  sandwiches,  then  we  won't  need  t'  hurry  hack  if  we 
don't  want  to.     I'll  go  out  an'  be  harnessin'  up." 

"It  certainly  has  done  father  a  lot  of  good,  my  taking  the 
whole  responsibility  of  the  farm  from  his  shoulders,"  Jerry  re- 
marked as  his  father  left  the  house.  "I  didn't  have  any  idea  he 
would  perk  up  so.  I  really  felt  a  little  worried  for  fear  he'd 
miss  the  things  he's  always  been  used  to  doing,  but  he  seems  to 
feel  splendid,  doesn't  he?" 

"I  don't  think  he  has  been  so  contented  and  happy  since 
before  your  mother  died,"  Molly  answered.  "He  and  Johnny 
are  together  all  the  time,  just  like  a  couple  of  boys.  They  spend 
hours  off  on  long  tramps  nearly  every  day.  It's  a  good  thing 
for  them  both.  Johnny  has  always  been  so  full  of  mischief 
before." 

Both  Jerry  and  Molly  would  have  been  mystified  could  they 
have  seen  Johnny  and  grandpa  a  half  hour  later.  They  had 
driven  the  light  wagon  down  to  the  edge  of  the  orchard  and  into 
it  they  were  stowing  a  varied  collection  of  things  which  had  been 
surreptitiously  hidden  there  during  the  past  week.  There  were 
farming  tools  and  bags  of  seeds  and  odd  pieces  of  lumber,  not  to 
mention  garden  lines  and  goods  boxes,  and  old  overalls,  shoes 
and  gloves. 

"We'll  take  these  things  out  to  our  farm  first,  then  we'll  go 
lo  town  fer  the  plow  an'  harrow  an'  things  an'  mabe  we  can  git 
back  an'  started  to  work  'fore  noon,"  Grandpa  confided  happily 
to  Johnny  as  they  worked. 

"What'll  we  do  first,  an'  kin  I  help?"  asked  Johnny  as  they 
rattled  down  the  road.  His  freckled  face  was  aglow  with  mys- 
tery and  pride. 

"Sure.  You'll  help  do  everything.  There's  lots  to  do.  It'll 
keep  us  a  hustlin'.  Now  we've  got  the  rocks  off  an'  the  brush 
grubbed  an'  it's  all  laid  off  we'll  plow  an'  harrer.  Then  we'll 
have  to  make  some  kind  of  a  shelter  fer  our  tools  an'  things. 
0,  they's  plenty  to  do,  Johnny.  Plenty  to  do!"  The  old  man 
clucked  happily  to  Dobbin,  and  his  eyes  beamed  almost  as 
brightly  as  Johnny's. 

After  that  Grandpa  and  Johnny  often  borrowed  the  light 
wagon  and  old  Dobbin  for  an  excursion.  And  they  continued 
also  to  take  long  walks  over  the  western  hill.  Had  the  members 
of  the  family  been  less  interested  and  busy  with  their  own  affairs 
they  might  have  wondered  what  it  all  meant,  but  there  was  an 
occasional  comment,  such  as,  "What  takes  Grandpa  and  Johnny 
off  so  much?"  or,  "Isn't  Grandpa's  rest  doing  him  a  world  of 
good?"  but  that  was  all.     And  the  days  of  May  and  June  and 


686  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

July  passed  and  the  little  secret  farm  over  in  Dry  Valley  thrived 
to  the  wonder  and  delight  of  the  two  farmers. 

One  morning  in  the  latter  part  of  July  as  the  two  were  dis- 
appearing over  the  hill,  Grandpa  drew  a  folded  newspaper  from 
his  pocket.  His  wrinkled  hands  shook  with  excitement  as  he 
opened  it. 

"Johnny,  look  at  that!"  he  exclaimed  indicating  a  big  head- 
line at  the  top  of  the  page:  Prizes  offered  by  State  for  best  ex- 
hibit of  dry-farm  products  raised  in  each  county.  Prizes  to  be 
awarded  at  county  fair  this  fall. 

The  old  man  read  the  announcement  tremulously. 

"That  means  us  Johnny!  That  means  us!  They  ain't  an- 
other dry-farm  in  this  here  county.  Nobudy  but  us  knows  that 
dry-farmin'  is  possible  in  these  big  red  sand  valleys.  That's 
when  we'll  give  'em  our  surprise  party,  Johnny,  there  at  the 
fair.  Kin  ye  hold  in  that  much  longer,  sonny?"  the  old  man's 
face  glowed  as  he  patted  the  youngster's  head. 

"You  bet!"  Johnny  assured  him  as  he  turned  a  somersault 
in  the  road  ahead  of  his  grandfather.  "Gee!  but  they'll  be  sur- 
prised. I  measured  Daddy's  biggest  squash  this  morning  an'  it 
only  beats  our'n  a  quarter  of  a  inch  an'  our  corn  is  purt'  near 
as  high  as  his.     0,  Gramp,  ain't  it  fun  t'  farm?" 

At  last  the  time  for  the  county  fair  arrived.  The  day  before 
the  wonderful  event  was  a  busy  one  on  the  Mortimer  farm.  Jerry 
had  never  been  so  proud  of  the  exhibit  he  was  prepared  to  make. 
He  usually  took  a  number  of  ribbons.  This  year  he  expected  to 
outdo  his  former  reputation. 

"Molly,  do  you  know  where  Father  and  Johnny  are?"  he 
inquired  along  the  middle  of  the  forenoon,  as  he  poked  his  head 
in  at  the  kitchen  door. 

"Why,  no.  I  haven't  seen  them  since  morning.  I  believe  I 
did  notice  them  going  off  down  through  the  orchard  right  after 
breakfast.     They  must  be  somewhere  around." 

"No,  I've  been  calling  and  looking  all  over.  They  never 
8eem  to  be  around  any  more.  I  thought  they  could  tie  up  the 
vegetables.  Johnny's  getting  plenty  big  eough  to  do  some- 
thing and  a  little  work  wouldn't  hurt  Father  at  a  busy  time  like 
this,  but  I'll  declare  the  two  of  them  are  off  chasing  butterflies 
and  hunting  birds'  nests  the  whole  time.  I  guess  you'll  have  to 
let  Lizzie  and  Kate  come  out  and  help  awhile.  We've  got  to  get 
our  stuff  to  the  Fair  before  five  o'clock  or  there  won't  be  time 
to  fix  the  exhibit.  I  don't  see  where  under  the  sun  those  two 
can  be,"  and  Jerry  turned  impatiently  back  to  the  barnyard. 

The  morning  of  the  Fair  dawned  with  all  the  welcome, 
warmth  and  radiance  of  a  perfect  Indian  summer  day.  The 
Mortimers  were  astir  early,  busy  and  excited,  getting  readv  to 
go  to  town. 


THE  FIRST  FARM  IN  DRY  VALLEY  687 

"Well,  I'll  declare,  I  don't  know  what  ever  has  come  over 
Father,"  Jerry  confided  to  Molly  as  he  wrestled  with  his  collar 
and  tie.  "Nothing  would  do  but  he  and  Johnny  should  take 
Dobbin  and  the  light  wagon  and  start  out  a  half  hour  ago.  He 
acts  more  excited  over  the  Fair  than  the  children  do.  It's  a 
good  thing  I  got  Lem  Watkins  early  in  the  spring  or  we  would 
have  been  hard  put  for  help  on  the  farm  this  summer.  I  didn't 
know  he  was  so  near  the  end  of  his  usefulness.  But,"  he  added 
comfortably,  "he  seems  wonderfully  well  and  happy,  doesn't 
he?  And,  of  course,  that  is  what  we  want." 

Glenville  was  a-buzz  with  all  the  gay  splendor  and  happy 
activity  attendant  upon  the  small  country  fair.  Vehicles  of 
every  description  were  drawn  up  in  long  lines  on  both  sides  of 
Main  street,  the  greater  number  being  near  the  Town  Hall  where 
the  fair  was  in  progress.  Flags  waved  above  decorated  shop 
windows.  Venders  of  ice  cream  and  lemonade  and  cracker- 
jack  and  toy  balloons  persuasively  called  out  their  wares.  Knots 
of  men  gathered  here  and  there  and  discussed  crops  and  the 
growing  prospects  of  the  county.  Neighboring  farm  wive? 
greeted  each  other  warmly,  and  enquired  with  interest  about 
each  other's  children,  the  fall  cleaning,  sewing  and  canning. 
Children  ran  joyously  about,  laughing  and  shouting,  enjoying  to 
the  full  this  gala  holiday. 

Inside  the  long  hall  a  throng  of  people  moved  slowly  from 
one  splendid  display  to  another.  The  women  paused  before 
tables  covered  with  canned  fruits  and  vegetables  and  preserves, 
or  exclaimed  over  the  array  of  fancy  quilts  and  sofa  pillows. 
The  men  looked  with  judicious  eyes  over  the  trays  of  vegetables 
and  fruits,  halting  here  and  there  where  a  red  or  blue  or  white 
ribbon  proclaimed  the  decision  of  the  judges. 

Down  in  the  far  end  of  the  hall  a  small  boy  and  an  old  man 
waited  eagerly.     They  were  before  a  neat  display  of  varied  farm 
products  above  which  hung  the  conspicuous  information: 
Exhibit  from  the  Dry-farm  of  J.  and  J.  Mortimer 

In  the  center  of  the  table  rested  another  placard  upon  which 
was  written: 

This  Display  was  Awarded  the  Special  $100  Cash  Prize  Offered 

by  the  State 

"Here  they  come!  Here  they  come!"  Johnny  whispered 
excitedly,  clutching  his  grandfather's  arm  as  he  indicated  their 
approaching  family. 

Jerry  Mortimer,  his  wife,  two  daughters,  and  sons,  Fred  and 
Jim,  were  slowly  making  their  way  down  the  long  hall.  They 
v/ore  looks  of  satisfaction,  having  just  observed  a  number  of 
ribbons  in  the  Mortimer  display. 


688 


IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


"Why,  there's  Grandpa  and  Johnny,  at  last!"  exclaimed 
Molly,  and  the  group  moved  more  rapidly  toward  them. 

Jerry  looked  up  at  the  inscription  above  the  exhibit  before 
which  his  father  and  son  were  standing.  He  stopped  and  stared. 
What  did  it  mean? 

Exhibit  from  the  Dry-farm  of  J.  and  J.  Mortimer.  He  looked 
at  the  two  figures  standing  expectantly  before  him,  then  turned 
again  to  the  inscription  and  to  the  placard  telling  of  the  prize. 
What  did  it  mean? 

"Yep,  it's  our'n!"  chirped  Johnny  in  answer  to  the  puzzled 
question  on  his  father's  face.  He  could  contain  himself  no 
longer.  "Gramp  an'  me's  got  the  bulliest  farm  over  in  Dry 
Valley!  We're  goin'  to  take  ye  all  out  t'  see  it  when  ye  git 
done  lookin'  around!" 

"Father!"  exclaimed  Jerry  and  there  was  a  queer  tightening 
in  his  throat  as  slowly  he  began  to  grasp  the  truth.  "Father, 
what  does  it  mean?" 

"Jist  what  the  lad  says,  Jerry.  Ye  see  Johnny  an'  me  wasn't 
paticully  needed  on  your  farm  any  more  so  we  thought  we'd 
git  t'  work  an'  prove  that  dry-farmin'  could  be  done  around  here 
as  well  as  any  other  place.  An'  if  our  stuff  here  don't  convince 
ye  that  it  can,  we  reckon  our  acre  up  in  Dry  Valley  will.  The 
judges  is  been  out  there  this  mornin'  an'  they've  got  a  committee 
figurin'  on  settin'  up  a  State  Experiment  Station  on  our  land  an' 
they  say  it  won't  be  five  years  before  the  hull  o'  Dry  Valley  will 
be  a  stretch  o'  wavin'  grain  fields." 
Chicago,  Illinois 


Copyright  by  Underwood  &  Underwood,  N.  Y. 
GREAT  RUSSIAN  DUMA  (IN  SESSION)  WHICH  NOW  GOVERNS  ALL 

THE  RUSSIANS 

The  Czar  had  ordered  the  Duma  suspended.  That  body  refused  and 
on  March  10  put  themselves  at  the  head  of  the  nation.  On  the  12th  a  new 
government  was  formed  with  Prince  Lvoff  as  Premier,  and  Professor  Paul 
Milukoff   as   Foreign   Minister. 


Palestine  of  the  Future 


By  J.  M.  Sjodahl,  Editor  Millennial  Star 


Some  months  ago  I  perused  with  some  interest  an  article  in 
an  Eastern  magazine,  on,  "Will  the  Great  War  Give  Palestine  to 
the  Jews?"  by  David  Baron. 

Mr.  Baron  remarks,  "Which  of  the  Gentile  powers  God  mav 
use  to  help  the  Jews  to  regain  possession  of  Palestine  while  still 
in  the  condition  of  unbelief,  and  under  what  auspices,  or  'pro- 
tection,' they  may  be  established  there  in  the  first  instance  *  * 
one  cannot  know." 

This  brought  to  my  mind  the  remarkable  propehcy  of 
Isaiah  (43:3),  "For  I  am  the  Lord  thy  God,  the  Holy  One  of 
Israel,  thy  Savior:  /  gave  Egypt  for  thy  ransom" 

If  we  may  accept  this  as  it  reads,  and  as  referring  to  the  final 
restoration  of  the  Jews  to  the  Land  of  Promise,  it  indicates  with 
sufficient  clearness  which  of  the  Gentile  powers  God  has  selected 
ad  his  instrument  to  accomplish  that  purpose.  For,  has  he  not, 
in  our  day,  entrusted  Egypt  to  the  care  of  Great  Britain?  On 
the  19th  of  December,  1914,  the  British  government  took  full 
charge  of  the  land  of  the  ancient  Pharaohs.  That  was  one  of 
the  first  great  achievements  of  the  present  conflict.  If  God  gave 
Egypt  to  Great  Britain  as  a  "ransom"  for  Israel,  he  undoubtedly 
expects  Great  Britain  to  see  to  it  that  Palestine  is  restored  when 
the  European  powers,  after  the  war,  shall  meet  in  conference  and 
draw  new  boundaries.  It  rests  with  this  great  nation,  having 
accepted  the  "ransom,"  to  restore  the  pledge. 

Ezekiel  (47:13  to  48:29)  describes  Palestine  restored  and 
Jerusalem  rebuilt  on  a  larger  scale  than  ever  before,  as  he  saw 
the  country  and  its  greater  capital  in  his  vision.  There  is  much 
in  this  prophetic  utterance  that  is  obscure,  but  it  appears  that 
the  Prophet  saw  a  country  extending  from  about  30  to  40  degrees 
north  latitude,  and  from  34  to  37  degrees  east  longitude.  This 
country,  being  about  280  miles  in  length  and  150  in  breadth,  was 
divided  in  13  provinces.  The  central  division  was  50  by  150 
miles  in  area  and  was  set  apart  for  the  public  service.  Jerusalem 
with  its  Temple  occupied  an  area  in  this  reservation,  or  more 
precisely,  in  the  "holy  oblation,"  ten  miles  square.  To  the  north 
were  seven  provinces,  each  about  20  by  150  miles,  and  named 
for  the  following  sons  of  Jacob,  respectively,  Judah,  Reuben, 
Ephraim,  Manasseh,  Naphtali,  Asher,  and  Dan.     To  the  south 


690  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

were  five  provinces,  each  containing  a  similar  area  as  those  in 
the  north,  and  named,  Benjamin,  Simeon,  Issachar,  Zebulon, 
and  Gad. 

This  seems  to  be  the  restored  Palestine  of  Ezekiel's  vision. 
But  it  is  only  Palestine  as  a  re-born  child.  The  Greater  Pales- 
tine will  extend  from  the  river  Euphrates  in  the  north  to  the 
Red  Sea,  and  from  the  Mediterranean  to  Euphrates  in  the  east. 
The  desert  will  be  made  to  "blossom  as  the  rose"  (Is.  35:1). 
Irrigation  will  do  for  that  part  of  the  world  what  it  has  done 
for  what  was  once  regarded  as  the  American  desert,  and  thus  the 
time  will  come  when  restored  Palestine  will  be  the  center  of  a 
new  civilization — a  civilization  in  which  arbitration  shall  take 
the  place  of  armies  and  navies,  and  in  which,  as  a  consequence, 
peace  and  prosperity,  and  religious  liberty  shall  prevail.  For, 
"The  Law  shall  go  forth  from  Zion,  and  the  word  of  the  Lord 
from  Jerusalem."  Then,  tools  of  war  will  be  turned  into  imple- 
ments of  agriculture;  each  man  shall  own  his  little  home,  or, 
as  the  Prophet  has  it,  "shall  sit  under  his  vine  and  under  his  fig 
tree;"  and,  further,  "all  people  will  walk  every  one  in  the  name 
of  his  God"  (Micah  4:1-5;  Is.  2:1-4).  Such  is  the  civilization 
which  will  develop  with  the  restoration  of  Palestine.  God  speed 
the  day! 
Liverpool,  England 


Beautiful  Sunbeams 


l.ents,  Oregon 


Beautiful  sunbeams,  so  pure  and  so  bright, 
Filling  our  hearts  with  the  purest  delight, 
Waking  the  flowers  from  sweetest  repose, 
Shading  the  rainbow  and  tinting  the  rose, 
Always  an  angel  of  mercy  thou  art, 
Ever  thy  mission  to  gladden  the  heart, 
Sending  thy  love-light  to  every  domain, 
Changing  the  fields  into  ripe  golden  grain. 

Wonderful  orbit,  so  pure  and  so  bright, 
Always  returning  to  chase  away  night, 
Sometimes  retreating  in  frolicksome  glee, 
Shining  alike  on  the  bond  and  the  free. 
Life  without  thee  would  be  one  dreary  night, 
Beautiful — beautiful — beautiful  light. 

Wonderful — wonderful — wonderful  light, 
Sunbeams  of  mercy,  angels  of  light, 
God  in  His  mercy  hath  given  to  thee, 
Light  for  our  footsteps  on  land  and  o'er  sea, 
Always  resplendent  in  heaven  thy  throne, 
Naught  can  remove  thee,  but  God's  hand  alone. 


Mary  B.  Jenkin 


Constantinople 


By  Dr.  Joseph  M.  Tanner 


Beloved  city,  the  charm  of  Oriental  life !  Through  the  cen- 
turies, one  of  the  most  picturesque  and  inviting  cities  of  the 
world  has  lain  in  a  state  of  weariness  and  helplessness.  Now 
that  the  great  war  has  brought  its  destiny  into  the  balance,  it  is 
but  natural  that  one  should  ask  what  is  to  be  its  fate?  In  the 
distance  it  lends  an  enchanting  view,  unsurpassed  by  any  city  in 
the  world;  but  the  nearby  vision  of  its  dirty  streets,  its  cobble- 
rock  roads,  its  motley  inhabitants,  its  wandering  dogs,  brings  the 
greatest  disappointment.  One  cannot  help  the  thought  that  a 
city  so  wonderful  in  the  beauty  of  its  landscape,  so  potent  in 
commerce,  so  favorable  in  climate,  should  be  the  mistress  of  the 
world. 

What  will  become  of  this  historic  city,  whose  past  is  so  full 
of  interest,  and  whose  future  is  so  full  of  promise?  It  is  on  the 
great  waterway  leading  from  central  Europe  to  the  Mediter- 
ranean and  the  southern  seas.  About  twenty  miles  north  of  the 
city,  the  shores  of  the  Black  Sea  converge  into  a  channel  varying 
from  one-fourth  of  a  mile  to  a  mile  in  width.  This  channel  is 
bounded  on  each  side  by  rolling  hills,  whose  ever-green  foliage 
make  it  one  of  the  most  charming  waterways  of  the  world. 
Where  this  channel,  the  Bosphorus,  flows  into  the  Marmora, 
Constantinople  is  located.  The  waters  of  this  sea  are  in  turn 
emptied  by  another  historic  stream,  the  Dardanelles  into  the 
TEgean  Sea,  from  the  iEgean  Sea  into  the  Mediterranean, 
through  the  Mediterranean  by  way  of  the  Suez  Canal  into  the 
Indian  Ocean,  and  through  the  Straits  of  Gibraltar  into  the 
Atlantic.  Through  this  great  waterway  past  Constantinople, 
Russia  might  carry  the  wealth  of  her  unlimited  products  to  all 
the  nations  of  the  world.  It  taps  the  Austrian  Empire,  Rumania, 
Bulgaria,  and  Serbia,  through  the  River  Danube. 

Lying  immediately  east  of  Constantinople  is  the  undevel- 
oped empire  of  Asia  Minor,  (which  now  luckily  seems  to  be 
coming  into  the  control  of  the  liberal  government  of  Britain), 
whose  resources  have  barely  been  touched,  and  whose  coming 
developments  are  the  most  promising  source  of  future  wealth 
that  any  undeveloped  country  in  the  world  has  to  offer.  Lead- 
ing down  from  the  high  lands  of  Armenia,  in  Asia  Minor,  along 
the  great  waters  of  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates  rivers,  one  comes 
to  the  center  of  ancient  civilization  in  the  valley  of  the  Meso- 


692  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

potamia.  Here  the  great  kingdoms  of  Assyria,  Babylon,  Chaldea 
and  Persia  witnessed  their  rise,  their  grandeur,  and  their  fall. 
It  awaits  only  the  hand  of  the  engineer  to  construct  dams  and 
great  waterways  to  make  it  one  of  the  most  inviting  lands  of 
the  world,  to  rival  the  fertile  lowlands  of  Egypt.  Syria  and 
Palestine  lie  dormant  under  the  curse  of  an  offended  God.  At 
the  touch  of  modern  husbandry  these  countries  would  spring 
into  a  commercial  life  that  would  rival  the  greatest  nations  of 
the  world.  West  of  Constantinople  are  the  great  plateaus  of 
Macedonia,  whose  roadways  witnessed  the  triumphant  march  of 
Alexander  the  Great.  Out  of  the  Balkan  mountains,  as  well  as  out 
of  Macedonia,  the  wealth  of  the  West  might  be  opened  through 
the  gates  of  this  wonderful  city.  In  ancient  days  it  was  the  great 
commercial  mart  of  the  world.  Into  it,  Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa 
were  constantly  pouring  their  limitless  wealth.  From  the  Bos- 
phorus,  up  through  the  center  of  Constantinople  runs  an  arm  of 
water  extending  in  the  shape  of  a  horn.  Because  of  the  gold 
that  found  its  way  into  this  arm  of  the  Bosphorus,  it  is  styled 
the  "Golden  Horn."  On  one  side  is  the  Turkish  part  of  the 
city,  called  "Stamboul;"  on  the  northern  part  is  "Pera,"  the 
European  side.  Thus  Occidental  and  Oriental  life  come  in 
touch,  and  over  the  bridge  which  spans  the  Golden  Horn,  separ- 
ating these  two  parts  of  the  city,  there  pass  almost  hourly  as 
many  as  twenty  different  nationalities.  What  a  motley  citizen- 
ship it  possesses!  Vast  wealth  of  the  world  might  again  be 
made  tributary  to  this  city  of  Constantine.  It  was  early  the 
home  of  Christianity.  For  more  than  four  centuries  it  has  been 
the  home  of  the  Mohammedan  religion. 

Constantinople  is  in  a  way  the  freest  city  in  the  world.  The 
government,  it  is  true,  is  lax,  but  people  are  permitted  to  do 
very  much  as  they  think  best,  and  there  is  a  mutual  tolerance  of 
all  these  races  respecting  manners  and  habits  of  one  another  that 
is  truly  striking.  There  men  may  do  very  much  as  they  please, 
and  if  a  man  were  met  walking  on  his  head  in  the  street,  he 
would  barely  be  noticed,  so  indifferent  are  the  inhabitants  to  the 
peculiarities  of  one  another. 

In  the  great  war  now  raging  in  Europe,  Constantinople  is 
the  goal  of  Russia  and  the  hope  of  Germany.  That  Constanti- 
nople will  continue  in  the  lethargy  of  its  past  is  unthinkable. 
If  the  Turk  be  permitted  to  retain  this  capitol  of  the  Moham- 
medan religion,  he  will  be  more  and  more  under  the  tutelage  of 
German  civilization  and  industry.  If  it  falls  to  the  lot  of  the 
now  changed  Russia,  who  can  say  what  its  fate  will  be?  Russia 
might  indeed  make  it  the  most  beautiful  city  in  the  world,  be- 
cause in  that  country  the  whole  empire  yields  up  its  marvelous 
contributions  to  the  demand  of  Russian  pride.  Every  one  who 
has  lived  there,  who  has  been  charmed  by  its  indolent  life,  will 


CONSTANTINOPLE  693 

have  his  preference  about  its  future  possessor.  There  are  those 
who  would  prefer  Germany;  on  the  other  hand,  there  are  those 
who  think  Russia  would  take  a  pride  in  its  development  that  no 
other  nation  would  even  dream  of.  As  to  the  pride  of  its  in- 
habitants, there  might  not  be  a  very  great  difference.  I  can 
hardly  suppress  the  wish  that  it  might  be  a  truly  cosmopolitan 
city,  a  free  city,  a  city  under  the  administration  of  a  great  inter- 
national council,  a  city  where  its  bizarre  life  could  go  on  un- 
restrained and  unchanged.  We  know  the  greater  liberty  of 
English  institutions,  but  England  has  no  ambition  for  it.  The 
choice  as  to  what  shall  become  of  Constantinople  must  rest  either 
with  the  Germans  or  with  the  Russians.  The  Turks  must  and 
will  go.  That  city  never  will  be  in  the  future  as  it  has  been 
in  the  past.  Germany  has  borne  thus  far  the  brunt  of  the  war 
of  the  central  powers,  and  could  she  win,  her  word  would  be  as 
effectual  as  her  military  supremacy  has  been  dominant.  There 
will  be  no  conditions,  when  the  peace  of  Europe  is  signed,  that 
will  appeal  so  strongly  to  the  imagination,  as  the  fate  of  Con- 
stantinople. 


Liberty  for  All 


(Selected) 


They  tell  me,  Liberty,  that  in  thy  name 
I  may  not  plead  for  all  the  human  race ; 
That  some  are  born  to  bondage  and  disgrace — ■ 
Some,  to  a  heritage  of  woe  and  shame — 
And  some  to  power  supreme,  and  glorious  fame ; 
With  my  whole  soul  I  spurn  the  doctrine  base, 
And,  as  an  equal  brotherhood,  embrace 
All  people,  and  for  all  fair  freedom  claim! 
Know  this,  oh  man !  whate'er  thy  earthly  fate — 

God  never  made  a  tyrant  nor  a  slave; 
Woe,  then,  to  those  who  dare  to  desecrate 

His  glorious  image — for  to  all  he  gave 
Eternal  rights  which  none  may  violate ; 
And  by  a  mighty  hand  the  oppressed 
He  yet  shall  save ! 

— Wm.  Lloyd  Garrison. 


The  World  Without  Science 


By  Dr.  F.  S.  Harris,  Director  Utah  Agricultural  Experiment  Station 


As  people  move  about  in  the  world  performing  their  several 
tasks,  with  the  aid  of  numerous  mechanical  devices  and  sur- 
rounded by  many  conveniences  and  luxuries,  they  are  prone  to 
look  upon  these  conditions  as  having  always  existed,  when  in 
reality  the  last  century  has  seen  more  progress  in  scientific  dis- 
covery than  have  all  the  previous  centuries  of  human  history. 
It  is  only  necessary  to  compare  conditions  in  the  days  of  our 
great  grandfathers  with  those  today  to  realize  how  very  rapid 
has  been  the  change.  The  debt  that  mankind  owes  to  science 
is  made  clear,  on  comparing  the  possibilities  of  a  civilization  in 
the  absence  of  science  with  one  assisted  by  the  powerful  agen- 
cies of  modern  research. 

It  has  been  the  practice  of  a  certain  class  of  persons  to 
undermine  the  teachings  of  science,  thinking  that  they  were 
thereby  staying  the  ravages  of  some  hideous  monster  and  ren- 
dering a  service  to  mankind.  Thanks  to  the  gradual  spread  of 
learning,  persons  of  that  class  are  rapidly  being  replaced  by 
those  who  see  in  science  nothing  to  be  feared  but  something  to 
be  fostered  and  developed.  People  are  finding  that  the  sole 
aim  of  science  is  the  discovery  of  truth,  and  that  no  amount  of 
suppression  will  prevent  truth  from  eventually  being  discovered. 
That  scientific  workers  often  draw  erroneous  conclusions  from 
available  facts  no  one  can  deny;  but  that  they  should  be  hin- 
dered in  the  pursuit  of  their  investigations  because  of  a  few 
mistakes  would  be  to  deny  them  the  charity  that  is  extended  in 
every  other  endeavor  of  mankind. 

Science,  unlike  religion,  has  had  to  develop  very  slowly.  In 
religion,  the  revealed  word  has  always  been  a  guide  and  has 
pointed  the  way;  in  science,  every  step  has  required  long  and 
tedious  work.  It  required  ages  for  man  to  learn  how  to  draw 
on  nature  for  her  hidden  secrets.  Old  habits  of  thinking  had 
to  be  discarded  and  new  methods  of  work  devised  before  note- 
worthy results  could  be  obtained;  but  with  these  difficulties 
overcome  advancement  was  rapid. 

Going  back  to  the  very  dawn  of  history  we  find  the  Egyp- 
tians possessed  of  considerable  knowledge  of  the  stars  and  the 
seasons.     They  also  understood  the  properties  of  the  triangle 

*Presidential  address,  delivered  before  the  Utah  Academy  of  Sciences, 
Salt  Lake  City,  April  6,  1917. 


THE  WORLD  WITHOUT  SCIENCE  695 

and  used  this  knowledge  in  resurveying  the  land  that  was  flooded 
each  year  by  the  Nile. 

There  was  no  real  development  in  science,  however,  till  the 
Greeks  began  their  rather  systematic  observations  of  nature. 
Aristotle  (384-322  B.  C.)  and  his  student  Theophrastus  recorded 
many  accurate  observations  from  their  studies  of  animals,  plants, 
and  rocks;  but  all  the  science  of  the  Greeks  was  so  intermixed 
with  speculation  and  philosophizing  that  a  great  deal  of  error 
crept  in.  At  that  time  the  methods  of  modern  science  were 
entirely  unknown,  but  the  scope  of  the  work  was  so  broad  that 
practically  all  the  sciences  now  trace  their  origin  to  the  time  of 
Aristotle. 

Later,  Alexandria  became  the  center  of  the  Greek  world; 
here  all  the  learning  of  the  time  was  centered.  Euclid,  Hip- 
parchus,  and  others  collected  data  on  astronomy,  geometry, 
trigonometry,  optics,  heat,  and  even  anatomy.  The  greatest 
work  during  this  time  was  done  at  Syracuse  by  Archimedes  (287 
B.  C.)  who  created  the  science  of  statics. 

The  Romans  did  little  for  science.  Pliny  (23-79  A.  D.)  col- 
lected all  the  writings  of  those  who  had  gone  before,  but  he  con- 
tributed nothing  new.  His  compilation,  however,  did  much  to 
preserve  the  information  that  had  been  discovered  by  earlier 
scholars. 

During  the  middle  ages  practically  nothing  was  done  in 
science.  The  people  were  so  completely  bound  to  authority  that 
original  studies  were  almost  unknown.  Aristotle  was  the  uni- 
versal authority  on  all  branches  of  science.  The  story  is  told 
of  a  heated  discussion  arising  over  the  number  of  teeth  in  the 
horse's  mouth.  All  the  authorities  were  searched  and  ponderous 
writings  submitted  on  this  question  that  could  have  been  so 
easily  settled  by  simple  observation.  The  whole  attitude  of 
mind  led  to  a  study  of  authorities  who  had  written  on  nature 
rather  than  to  a  study  of  nature  itself. 

Science  in  the  middle  ages  was  fostered  chiefly  by  the  Arabs 
who  believed  in  the  pseudo-sciences  of  astrology  and  alchemy, 
but  they  did  much  to  advance  algebra  and  some  of  the  sciences. 
By  the  end  of  the  fourteenth  century  astrology  reached  the  sum- 
mit of  its  popularity.  At  this  time  everything  that  happened 
on  the  earth  was  attributed  to  the  condition  and  position  of  the 
stars.  Disease,  weather,  crop  growth,  and  even  personal  fortune 
or  misfortune  were  thought  to  be  profoundly,  if  not  completely, 
dependent  on  heavenly  bodies.  Man  was  in  no  sense  thought  to 
be  master;  he  was  considered  to  be  merely  a  victim  of  the  stars. 

Tradition,  belief  in  authority,  and  superstitions  of  the  false 
sciences  of  astrology  and  alchemy  long  and  successfully  resisted 
the  advance  of  knowledge.  Time-honored  ideas,  nevertheless, 
received  a  rude  shock  at  the  hands  of  Copernicus  (1473),  and  by 


696  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

1600,  when  Giordano  Bruno  was  burned  at  the  stake,  the  germ 
of  original  investigation  had  been  planted.  In  the  next  century 
perhaps  the  greatest  revolution  in  thought  that  has  occurred  in 
all  history  swept  the  western  world.  To  this  many  factors  con- 
tributed: the  genius  of  a  few  great  men  like  Newton,  Galileo, 
Harvey,  Kepler,  Descartes,  Bacon,  and  Leibnitz;  the  invention 
of  the  telescope  and  the  compound  microscope;  and  the  general 
awakening  of  thought  by  the  Renaissance. 

Before  Galileo  only  two  modern  men  of  science  are  con- 
spicuous: Copernicus,  who  studied  the  movements  of  heavenly 
bodies,  and  Vesalius  (1514-1564)  who  overthrew  the  authority  of 
Galen  and  studied  at  first  hand  the  organization  of  the  human 
body.  Not  until  the  seventeenth  century  did  modern  science 
gain  a  secure  footing.  In  1628  William  Harvey,  by  adding  ex- 
periment to  observation,  demonstrated  the  circulation  of  the 
blood  and  created  a  new  physiology,  and  in  1687  Newton  pub- 
lished his  Principia  which  established  the  science  of  mechanics. 
These  two  contributions  were  so  revolutionary  that  the  earlier 
ideas  of  physical  and  biological  science  were  almost  completely 
upset;  and  through  them  a  foundation  was  laid  on  which  the 
structure  of  modern  science  could  be  reared. 

In  the  eighteenth  century  the  development  of  chemistry  by 
Lavoisier  aided  by  Scheele,  Priestly,  and  others  gave  to  scien- 
tists a  new  and  powerful  instrument  for  solving  many  of  the 
mysteries  of  nature.  In  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century 
there  was  almost  a  complete  change  in  science.  The  old  idea 
of  the  spontaneous  origin  of  life  was  given  up;  the  methods  by 
which  plants  and  animals  feed  and  grow  were  discovered.  Sci- 
ence was  subdivided  with  specialists  working  on  each  of  its 
branches. 

Then  followed  a  popular  interest  in  science  which  resulted 
in  the  contribution  of  very  much  larger  sums  for  research  than 
could  previously  be  obtained.  Before  this  time  the  scientist  was 
considered  to  be  out  of  harmony  with  the  rest  of  mankind;  he 
was  forced  to  carry  on  most  of  his  investigations  secretly.  As 
the  century  advanced  science  gradually  won  a  hearing.  At  first 
it  was  grudgingly  tolerated;  later  its  more  conservative  teach- 
ings were  made  a  part  of  ordinary  schooling,  and  toward  the 
close  of  the  century  it  was  given  a  place  of  equal  rank  with 
classical  subjects  in  the  college  curriculum.  Since  the  middle 
of  the  century  the  practical  service  of  science  to  mankind  has 
gradually  become  so  well  known  that  today  scientific  research 
is  considered  to  be  as  much  a  part  of  governmental  duty  as  any 
branch  of  the  public  service. 

The  wisdom  of  diverting  public  funds  and  private  endow- 
ments to  scientific  research  and  instruction  will  be  more  fully 
appreciated  by  a  review  of  some  of  the  contributions  of  science 


THE  WORLD  WITHOUT  SCIENCE  697 

to  transportation,  communication,  medicine,  manufacturing, 
agriculture,  household  economy,  and  other  branches  of  human 
activity. 

Probably  in  no  practical  phase  of  man's  life  have  the  dis- 
coveries of  science  yielded  more  far-reaching  results  than  in 
transportation.  It  is  only  necessary  to  compare  the  old  sailing 
vessel,  the  horse  car,  and  the  stage  coach  with  the  modern  steam 
ship,  the  electric  trolley,  the  steam-driven  train,  the  automobile, 
and  the  flying  machine,  to  realize  what  the  discoveries  that  made 
these  improvements  possible  have  meant  to  civilization.  It  will 
be  readily  seen  that  the  activities  of  the  modern  world  would  be 
utterly  impossible  with  the  old  methods  of  transportation.  When 
months  were  required  to  haul  a  wagon  load  of  freight  across  the 
continent,  it  is  obvious  that  nothing  but  the  most  precious  com- 
modities could  be  thus  conveyed. 

The  casual  observer  looking  at  an  automobile  does  not  real- 
ize that  it  is  made  up  of  many  complex  parts  each  one  of  which 
probably  required  a  number  of  stages  of  development  on  the 
part  of  scientific  workers  before  it  was  finally  completed.  The 
electric  current  used  in  the  spark,  the  workings  of  the  internal 
combustion  engine,  the  mechanism  used  in  transmission,  and  the 
vulcanizing  of  rubber  which  made  pneumatic  tires  possible,  all 
demanded  years  of  patient  work  on  the  part  of  scientists. 

Closely  associated  with  transportation  are  the  improved 
methods  of  communication.  Fast  mails,  the  telegraph,  the  tele- 
phone, and  the  wireless  telegraph  and  telephone,  indicate  the 
service  that  science  has  rendered  to  the  communication  of  intelli- 
gence. At  present  only  a  few  hours  are  required  to  learn  the 
happenings  in  all  parts  of  the  world,  while  in  the  days  before 
science  discovered  the  uses  of  steam  and  electricity,  months  were 
necessary  to  convey  news  to  the  various  parts  of  a  country  as 
large  as  the  United  States.  In  the  old  days  business  had  to  be 
confined  largely  to  local  transactions;  today  there  is  no  geo- 
graphical limit  to  exchange.  Formerly  the  people  knew  prac- 
tically nothing  beyond  local  happenings;  at  present  all  feel 
themselves  to  be  parts  of  an  immense  world  community. 

Human  health  and  well  being  have  been  so  materially  aided 
by  science  that  a  return  to  the  old  conditions  would  arouse  a 
feeling  of  horror  in  all  who  could  realize  the  situation.  It  has 
not  been  many  centuries  since  practically  all  bodily  ailments 
were  attributed  to  unfavorable  stellar  conditions  or  to  evil 
spirits.  The  disease  was  diagnosed  by  a  study  of  the  stars  rather 
than  by  an  examination  of  the  body. 

The  germ  theory  of  disease  had  its  origin  as  late  as  1860  and 
was  not  thoroughly  established  until  almost  1880.  Before  this 
time  medicine  was  simply  groping  in  the  dark.  A  few  specific 
treatments  were  known,  but  many  of  these  were  founded  on 


698  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

false  principles.  The  work  of  Pasteur  on  the  micro-organisms 
causing  disease,  and  the  application  by  Lister  of  the  knowledge 
of  these  organisms  in  antiseptic  surgery,  have  probably  done 
more  to  overcome  human  suffering  than  all  previous  discoveries. 

The  utter  helplessness  of  man  in  blindly  coping  with  disease 
is  realized  when  it  is  known  that  in  Naples  300,000  people  died 
in  five  months  due  to  contagion,  and  in  Constantinople  10,000 
people  died  in  a  single  day.  As  late  as  1867,  3.4  per  cent  of  the 
women  confined  in  hospitals  died,  while  today  the  mortality  is 
only  .08  of  one  per  cent.  Before  the  days  of  Pasteur  and  Lister 
about  41  per  cent  of  those  having  a  limb  amputated  died,  while 
today  the  percentage  has  been  reduced  to  about  5.  These  are 
only  a  few  of  the  many  illustrations  that  could  be  cited  to  show 
how  scientific  discoveries  have  helped  in  the  control  of  disease 
and  in  the  reduction  of  the  death  rate. 

In  manufacturing  of  every  kind  the  discoveries  of  chemistry 
and  physics  have  wrought  such  changes  that  scarcely  any  of  the 
processes  used  by  our  grandparents  are  in  use  today.  The  new 
is  being  replaced  by  the  newer.  Electricity  taken  from  the 
water  fall  and  transmitted  to  where  it  can  be  best  utilized  now 
turns  the  wheels  of  machinery  once  operated  by  hand.  In  the 
digging  and  smelting  of  ore,  in  the  making  of  iron  and  steel, 
and  in  the  converting  of  these  into  articles  of  commerce  all  the 
processes  have  been  improved  by  discoveries  of  science.  Sim- 
ilar improvements  have  been  made  in  the  textile  industries,  in 
fact,  every  branch  of  manufacturing  is  now  using  science  as  a 
basis  in  production.  Through  science  many  luxuries  that  could 
formerly  be  enjoyed  only  by  the  rich  are  now  placed  at  the  dis- 
posal of  everyone. 

Such  household  conveniences  as  electric  lights,  steam  heat, 
modern  plumbing,  and  labor-saving  machines  have  added  much 
to  the  comforts  of  home  and  have  given  the  housewife  a  greater 
opportunity  to  prepare  herself  for  intelligent  motherhood. 

In  agriculture,  the  oldest  of  the  arts,  the  transformations 
due  to  science  are  scarcely  less  marked.  From  the  time  of  the 
ancient  Greek,  when  farm  practice  was  often  based  on  dogmatic 
traditions,  to  the  present  time  when  the  principles  underlying 
agriculture  are  well  understood,  the  methods  employed  have 
changed  radically.  Practically  all  of  this  change  has  come  dur- 
ing the  last  century  since  science  has  been  used  in  solving  the 
problems  of  the  land. 

Before  1840,  when  Liebig  finally  demonstrated  the  methods 
by  which  plants  obtain  their  food,  soil  management  was  based 
on  erroneous  and  wasteful  ideas.  Since  that  time  the  advances 
in  agriculture  have  been  so  rapid  that  volumes  would  be  re- 
quired to  record  the  discoveries.  Every  phase  of  farming  has 
been  improved,  until  today  one  man  is  able  to  produce  as  much 


THE  WORLD  WITHOUT  SCIENCE 


699 


as  was  formerly  produced  by  many.  This  means  that  the 
products  of  the  farm  can  be  furnished  at  a  more  reasonable  rate, 
and  also  that  many  of  those  formerly  required  to  produce  the 
world's  supply  of  farm  products  are  now  at  liberty  to  engage  in 
other  productive  enterprises. 

Probably  sufficient  has  been  said  to  show  how  all  the  arts 
and  industries  of  mankind  have  been  profoundly  influenced  by 
the  work  of  science.  In  brief,  without  the  results  of  science  we 
should  find  ourselves  in  isolated  communities,  dependent  on 
local  production,  with  no  adequate  means  of  transportation  or 
communication,  and  subject  to  the  ravages  of  disease.  We  would 
be  forced  to  content  ourselves  with  very  few  personal  conven- 
iences; and,  worst  of  all,  our  minds  would  be  dominated  largely 
by  superstitious  ignorance  regarding  our  surroundings.  With 
the  aid  of  science  man  is  able  to  become  master  of  his  environ- 
ment; he  may  harness  the  forces  of  nature  and  use  them  to  ad- 
vance his  own  welfare  as  well  as  to  make  the  earth  an  abiding 
place  worthy  of  his  God-given  intelligence.  Best  of  all  he  is 
enabled  to  obey  that  part  of  the  first  command  wherein  he  was 
given  dominion  over  the  earth  and  was  required  to  subdue  it. 
Logan,  Utah 


Photograph  from  Underwood  and  Underwood,  New  York. 
THE  RUSSIAN  REVOLUTION 
This  is  one  of  the  first  photos  of  the  revolution,  showing  revolutionary 
soldiers  with  red  flag  bearing  the  inscription:     "Down  with  the  Monarchy; 
Long  live  Democracy;  Long  live  the  Republic." 


Outlines  for  Scout  Workers 


By  Delbert  W.  Parratt,  B.  S. 


XVIII — Ruby-Crowned  Kinglet 

Do  you  ne'er  think  what  wondrous  beings  these? 

Do  you  ne'er  think  who  made  them,  and  who  taught 
The  dialect  they  speak,  where  melodies 

Alone  are  the  interpreters  of  thought? — Longfellow. 

1.  Why  is  the  ruby-crowned  kinglet  so  named? 

2.  Where  does  it  spend  the  winter?     The  summer? 

3.  He  is  said  to  be  a  nervous  little  fellow.     Why? 

4.  Contrast  the  male  and  female  kinglet  in   size,  color,  and  markings 
and  tell  why  the  differences. 

5.  Tell  of  the  ruby-crowned  kinglet's  song. 

6.  Contrast  the  winter  and  summer  flocking  habits  of  these  birds. 

7.  Tell  when,  where,  and  of  what  the  nests  are  made. 

8.  How  many  and  of  what  color  are  the  eggs? 

9.  Upon  what  do  these  birds  feed? 

10.     Should   they   be   protected?-       Give   at   least   two   reasons   for   your 
answer. 

Handy  Material 

I   know   a   nimble   little   bird, 

So  tiny  and   so  gay, 
With  ruby  crown  upon  his  head 

And  back  of  olive  gray; 
He  flits  and  twists  with  no  concern, 

This  lively  acrobat. 
Now  who  of  you  his  name  discern? 

Speak  up  and  tell  me  that. — Guessing  Game. 

Birds  having  crest  feathers  are  said  to  wear  crowns  and 
some,  for  this  reason,  are  referred  to  as  kings.  The  one,  for 
example,  which  catches  fish  and  wears  a  crest  or  crown  is  com- 
monly known  as  the  kingfisher  and,  likewise,  the  beautiful 
crowned  flycatchers   are  usually   described   as  kingbirds.     The 


OUTLINES  FOR  SCOUT  WORKERS  701 

little  fellow  under  consideration  has  a  crown  and  is,  therefore, 
rightly  qualified  to  bear  the  royal  title,  but  owing  to  his  diminu- 
tive size  he  is  more  appropriately  called  a  kinglet.  His  attrac- 
tive crown  feathers,  somewhat  concealed,  are  of  rich  crimson, 
suggestive  of  a  ruby,  and  in  consequence  the  little  king  is  fitting- 
ly dubbed  Ruby-Crowned  Kinglet. 

This  feathered  midget  frequents  most  of  the  United  States 
and  Canada.  His  migratory  range  is  much  like  that  of  the 
slate-colored  junco,  but  covers  a  greater  area.  East  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  he  habitually  summers  in  southern  Canada  and  win- 
ters southward  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  and  even  to  Guatemala. 
In  the  west  his  migrations  are  much  more  limited.  While  he  is 
found  quite  generally  throughout  the  Rocky  Mountains,  as  far 
north  as  Alaska,  his  change  from  summer  to  winter  homes  is  in 
reality  not  very  great.  Ordinarily,  in  these  regions,  he  breeds 
in  high  mountain  altitudes  where  climatic  conditions  are  cool 
and  otherwise  favorable.  His  winters  are  spent  in  the  lower 
valleys  and  along  the  sea  coast,  where  storms  are  less  severe  and 
where  food  may  be  had  in  greater  quantities.  Locally,  he 
flocks  in  considerable  numbers  during  warm,  mid-summer 
months  in  the  higher,  brisking  recesses  of  our  Wasatch  range, 
and  during  winter  flits  about  in  brushes  and  trees  of  our  and 
other  near-by  valleys. 

During  colder  months  the  pert  little  fellows  are  seen,  singly 
or  in  groups  of  not  more  than  two  or  three,  nervously  skipping 
from  limb  to  limb  in  such  an  active  manner  that  it  is  usually 
quite  difficult  to  get  a  satisfactory  look  at  them.  However, 
patient,  "watchful  waiting"  will  nearly  always  award  the  inter- 
ested observer.  The  little,  chattering  acrobats  will  sooner  or 
later  reveal  their  identity. 

As  with  most  other  birds,  the  male  kinglet  is  somewhat 
larger  than  the  female  and  his  colorings  brighter,  and  markings 
more  pronounced.  He  measures  from  four  to  four  and  one- 
half  inches  in  length  and  is  thus  among  the  smallest  birds  living 
in  or  visiting  our  valley.  A  quiet,  grayish  olive  mantles  his 
upper  parts  and  blends  to  a  lighter  greenish  cast  on  the  rump. 
This  affords  a  pleasing  background  for  the  showy,  ruby  crown- 
feathers  adorning  his  pert  head.  Dusky  gray  covers  both  wing 
and  tail  feathers,  but  this  is  enlivened  by  dainty  streaks  of  buff 
along  their  edges,  and  each  wing  shows  two  cheering  white  bars 
in  contrast  with  this  somber  gray.  A  narrow  white  ring  par- 
tially encircles  each  eye  and  a  dirty-white  covers  the  under  parts 
of  his  tiny  body. 

Females  as  well  as  immature  males  are  lacking  the  char- 
acteristic ruby  crown.  This  is  a  mark  of  beauty  used  to  win 
attentions  from  coveted  females  during  mating  season,  and  in 
consequence,  of  course,  has  no  place  upon  the  less  concerned 


702  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

'iady  and  boy  birds."  In  addition  to  showing  his  usually  con- 
cealed "hat  feathers,"  the  exuberant  male  during  this  anxious 
season  resorts  to  song  to  ingratiate  himself  into  the  good  graces 
of  his  desired  female.  And  what  a  sweet,  modulated  song  it  is! 
You  wonder  how  such  volume  of  ringing  melody  can  come  from 
such  a  tiny  throat!  "Its  exquisite  vocalization  defies  descrip- 
tion." 

In  speaking  of  this  remarkable  lark  and  canary-like  little 
musician,  Leander  Keyser  writes:  "Beginning  with  exceedingly 
fine  whistle,  which  could  not  be  heard  far  away,  he  descanted 
in  sounds  that  it  is  impossible  to  convey  in  syllables.  The  best 
literation  of  his  song  that  I  was  able  to  make  was  the  following: 
Tse-e-ek,  tse-e-ek,  tse-e-e-ek,  cholly-cholly-cholly,  che-che-che, 
pur-tie,  pur-tie,  pur-tie!  the  purtie  accented  strongly  on  the 
last  syllable,  and  the  whole  performance  closing  with  an  inter- 
rogative inflection." 

Thus  with  resonant  song  our  cheer-giving,  little  friends  take 
leave  for  cool  mountain  retreats  to  engage  in  the  serious  duties 
of  building  nests  and  rearing  little  ones.  They  are  seldom  con- 
tent to  remain  in  altitudes  of  less  than  eight  thousand  feet  and 
almost  never  go  beyond  the  upper  limits  of  tree  growth.  As  a 
rule,  their  partly  prehensil  nests  are  built  at  the  ends  of  branches 
or  tops  of  evergreen  trees  from  ten  to  thirty  feet  above  ground. 
They  are  neat  and  compact,  made  of  bark  fibers,  moss,  and  the 
like,  and  lined  with  hair  or  feathers. 

The  delicate  eggs,  from  five  to  nine  in  number,  are  whitish 
or  buffy  and  usually  spotted  with  light  brown  around  the  larger 
ends. 

It  is  indeed  interesting  to  watch  these  busy  little  kings 
nimbly  peering  and  prying  into  nooks  and  corners  of  various 
trees  examining  for  hidden  insects,  eggs,  and  larvae.  Often  one 
sees  them  fluttering,  like  humming  birds,  up  and  down  or  along 
limbs  minutely  scanning  in  quest  of  scanty  food.  According  to 
the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture,  these  cheery,  acro- 
batic wanderers  are  of  inestimable  value  to  orchardists.  In  re- 
ferring to  the  good  accomplished  by  the  ruby-crowned  kinglet, 
a  government  bulletin  issued  in  1913  said:  "Three-fourths  of 
its  food  consists  of  wasps,  bugs,  and  flies.  Beetles  are  the  only 
other  item  of  importance  (12  per  cent).  The  bugs  eaten  by 
the  kinglet  are  mostly  small,  but,  happily,  they  are  the  most 
harmful  kinds.  Treehoppers,  leafhoppers,  and  jumping  plant 
lice  are  pests  and  often  do  great  harm  to  trees  and  smaller 
plants,  while  plant  lice  and  scale  insects  are  the  worst  scourges 
of  the  fruit  grower — in  fact,  the  prevalence  of  the  latter  has 
almost  arisen  to  the  magnitude  of  a  national  peril.  It  is  these 
small  and  seemingly  insignificant  birds  that  most  successfully 
attack  and  hold  in  these  insidious  foes  of  horticulture." 


jimimiiimiiiiiiiii i iiiiiiiiiiiiii Ilillliilllimiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiii nun iiiiiiiiniii mill iiiimmi mniiimmiu 


Brigham  Young 


He  was  born  to  be  a   leader  of  men. 

He  knew  no  rank  but  the  front  rank. 

Fearlessly  he  hurled  the  banner  of  truth  aloft,  and 
blazed  a  new  trail. 

With  his  great  faith  he  did  not  move  mountains,  but 
he  crossed  mountains  which  other  men  had  con- 
sidered impassable. 

He  founded  an  empire  where  men  foretold  that  an 
ear  of  corn  would  not  grow. 

His  feet  rested  firmly  on  the  earth,  and  his  tread  was 
sure,  but  ever  before  his  eye  was  "The  Kingdom 
of  God." 

In  his  youth  he  espoused  a  feeble  and  despised  Cause, 
but  like  a  valiant  soldier  he  saw  that  Cause  be- 
come a  mighty  power  among  men. 

High  honor  to  his  name !  Generations  may  come  and 
go  before  we  look  upon  his  like  again. 

Preston  Nibley. 


fiiiiiiiimiiiimiiiiiii i iiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiii 


iiiiiiiiiiinmiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiin: 


The  Co-operative  Plan  of  Salvation 

Christ  Alone  Cannot  Save  You — Your  Individual  Effort 

Essential 


By  James  E.  Talmage,  of  the  Council  of  the  Twelve 

We  believe  that  through  the  Atonement  of  Christ  all  man- 
kind may  be  saved,  by  obedience  to  the  laws  and  ordinances  of 
the  Gospel. 

In  earlier  articles  of  this  series  it  has  been  shown  that  mor- 
tality is  divinely  provided  as  a  means  of  schooling  and  test, 
whereby  the  spirit  offspring  of  God  may  develop  their  powers 
and  demonstrate  their  characters.  Every  one  of  us  has  been 
advanced  from  the  unembodied  or  preexistent  state  to  our  pres- 
ent condition,  in  which  the  individual  spirit  is  temporarily 
united  with  a  body  of  flesh  and  bones.  Yet  this  promotion  to 
the  mortal  state  is  regarded  by  many  as  a  degradation;  and  we 
are  prone  to  bewail  the  fallen  condition  of  the  race  as  an  un- 
mitigated calamity.  The  Scriptures  make  clear  the  glorious 
truth  that  man  may  rise  far  above  the  plane  upon  which  he 
existed  before  his  birth  in  the  flesh.  We  have  stooped  that  we 
may  conquer;  we  have  been  permitted  to  descend  only  that  we 
may  attain  greater  heights. 

The  transgression  of  our  parents  in  Eden  was  foreseen,  and 
the  Divine  plan  provided  a  means  of  redemption.  The  Eternal 
Father,  who  is  verily  the  Father  of  our  spirits,  well  understood 
the  diverse  natures  and  varied  capacities  of  His  unembodied 
children;  and  it  was  plain  to  Him,  even  from  the  beginning,  that 
in  the  school  of  mortal  life  some  would  succeed  while  others 
would  fail;  some  would  be  faithful  and  others  false;  some 
would  choose  the  good,  others  the  evil;  some  would  seek 
the  way  of  life  while  others  would  follow  the  road  to  de- 
struction. He  foresaw  that  His  commandments  would  be  dis- 
obeyed and  His  law  violated;  and  that  men,  shut  out  from  His 
presence  and  left  to  themselves  would  sink  rather  than  rise, 
would  retrograde  rather  than  advance,  and  would  be  lost  to  the 
heavens.  It  was  plain  to  Him  that  death  would  enter  the  world, 
and  that  the  possession  of  bodies  by  His  children  would  be  of 
brief  individual  duration. 

A  Redeemer  was  chosen,  and  that  even  before  the  founda- 
tion of  the  world.     He,  the  first-born  among  all  the  spirit  chil- 


THE  CO-OPERATIVE  PLAN  OF  SALVATION  705 

dren  of  God,  was  to  come  to  earth,  clothed  with  the  attributes 
of  both  Godhood  and  manhood,  to  teach  men  the  saving  prin- 
ciples of  the  eternal  Gospel  and  so  establish  on  earth  the  terms 
and  conditions  of  salvation.  In  consummation  of  His  mission, 
Christ  gave  up  His  life  as  a  voluntary  and  vicarious  sacrifice  for 
the  race.  Through  the  Atonement  wrought  by  Him  the  power  of 
death  has  been  overcome;  for  while  all  men  must  die,  their 
resurrection  is  assured.  The  effect  of  Christ's  Atonement  upon 
the  race  is  twofold: 

1.  The  eventual  resurrection  of  all  men,  whether  righteous 
or  wicked.  This  constitutes  Redemption  from  the  Fall,  and, 
since  the  Fall  came  through  individual  transgression,  in  all  jus- 
tice relief  therefrom  must  be  made  universal  and  unconditional. 
Thus  we  read: 

"Therefore  as  by  the  offence  of  one  judgment  came  upon  all 
men  to  condemnation;  even  so  by  the  righteousness  of  one  the 
free  gift  came  upon  all  men  unto  justification  of  life"  (Rom- 
ans 5:18). 

2.  The  providing  of  a  means  whereby  reparation  may  be 
made  and  forgiveness  be  obtained  for  individual  sin.  This  con- 
stitutes Salvation,  and  is  made  available  to  all  through  Obe- 
dience to  the  laws  and  ordinances  of  the  Gospel. 

Between  redemption  from  the  power  of  death  and  salva- 
tion in  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  there  is  a  vital  difference.  Man 
alone  cannot  save  himself;  Christ  alone  cannot  save  him.  The 
plan  of  salvation  is  co-operative.  The  Atonement  effected  by 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  has  opened  the  way;  it  is  left  to  every 
man  to  enter  therein  and  be  saved  or  to  turn  aside  and  forfeit 
salvation.  God  will  force  no  man  either  into  heaven  or  into 
hell. 

Hear  the  words  of  an  Apostle  of  old,  concerning  the  right- 
eous judgment  of. the  Almighty: 

"Who  will  render  to  every  man  according  to  his  deeds: 
To  them  who  by  patient  continuance  in  well  doing  seek  for 
glory  and  honor  and  immortality,  eternal  life.  But  unto  them 
that  are  contentious,  and  do  not  obey  the  truth,  but  obey  unright- 
eousness, indignation  and  wrath;  Tribulation  and  anguish,  upon 
every  soul  of  man  that  doeth  evil,  of  the  Jew  first,  and  also  of 
the  Gentile.  But  glory,  honor,  and  peace,  to  every  man  that 
icorketh  good,  to  the  Jew  first,  and  also  to  the  Gentile:  For  there 
is  no  respect  of  persons  with  God?'  (Romans  2:6-11). 

Jacob,  a  Nephite  prophet,  has  given  us  a  masterly  summary 
of  the  results  of  our  Lord's  Atonement,  both  as  to  the  universal 
redemption  from  death,  and  the  conditions  upon  which  indi- 
vidual salvation  may  be  obtained: 

"For  as  death  hath  passed  upon  all  men,  to  fulfil  the  merci- 


706  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

fill  plan  of  the  great  Creator,  there  must  needs  be  a  power  of 
resurrection,  and  the  resurrection  must  needs  come  unto  man  by 
reason  of  the  fall;  and  the  fall  came  by  reason  of  transgression; 
and  because  man  became  fallen,  they  were  cut  off  from  the  pres- 
ence of  the  Lord;  Wherefore  it  must  needs  be  an  infinite  atone- 
ment; save  it  should  be  an  infinite  atonement,  this  corruption 
could  not  put  on  incorruption.  Wherefore,  the  first  judgment 
which  came  upon  man,  must  needs  have  remained  to  an  endless 
duration.  *  *  *  And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  that  when  all 
men  shall  have  passed  from  this  first  death  unto  life,  insomuch 
as  they  have  become  immortal,  they  must  appear  before  the 
judgment-seat  of  the  Holy  One  of  Israel;  and  then  cometh  the 
judgment,  and  then  must  they  be  judged  according  to  the  holy 
judgment  of  God.  *  *  *  And  he  sufFereth  this,  that  the 
resurrection  might  pass  upon  all  men,  that  all  might  stand  be- 
fore him  at  the  great  and  judgment  day.  And  he  commandeth 
all  men  that  they  must  repent,  and  be  baptized  in  his  name,  hav- 
ing perfect  faith  in  the  Holy  One  of  Israel,  or  they  cannot  be 
saved  in  the  kingdom  of  God.  And  if  they  will  not  repent  and 
believe  in  his  name,  and  be  baptized  in  his  name,  and  endure  to 
the  end,  they  must  be  damned;  for  the  Lord  God,  the  Holy  One 
of  Israel,  has  spoken  it"  (Book  of  Mormon,  2  Nephi  9:6,  7, 
15,  22-24). 


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M.  I.  A.  Officers  of  Denver,  Colorado 

Top  Row:  Willard  Call,  class  leader;  Chauncey  W.  West,  chorister; 
Angus  Mortensen,  member  special  activity  committee;  Jane  W.  Herrick, 
chairman  special  activity  committee;  Anne  Snow,  class  leader,  Ina  Erick- 
son,  organist. 

Bottom  Row:  Joseph  C.  Call,  second  counselor;  Lester  Herrick,  sec- 
retary; John  W.  Herrick,  president;  John  L.  Herrick,  Mission  president; 
Marie  Pitschke,  president;  Sybil  Smith,  secretary;  Katherine  Mortensen, 
first  counselor;  Pauline  Christensen,  second  counslor. 


The  Useful  Scout 


Firm  march  time. 


Words  and  Music  by  Lucy  M.  Green 


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Repeat  last  four  measures  whistling. 


Character — A  Sermonet 


By  Robert  J.  Burdette 


"As  a  man  thinketh  in  his  heart,  so  is  he." — Proverbs  23:7. 

Someone  has  said,  "Character  is  what  a  man  is  in  the  dark." 
What  he  is  without  an  audience.  His  reputation  may  be  grand- 
stand play ;  a  safe,  senseless  slide  to  second  with  the  ball  a  quar- 
ter of  a  mile  away — a  cloud  of  dust  and  thunders  of  cheers  from 
people  who  don't  know  the  game.  His  character  may  be  the 
sacrifice  hit  that  brings  him  hisses  from  the  same  class  of  peo- 
ple— and  advances  the  team. 

What  you  wish  you  were,  that's  your  ideal.  What  people 
think  you  are,  that's  your  reputation.  What  you  know  you  are, 
that's  your  character.  To  paraphrase  Abraham  Lincoln,  you 
may  fool  some  other  people  all  of  the  time,  but  you  can't  fool 
yourself  one  little  bit  of  the  time. 

Reputation  is  a  variable  estimate,  depending  not  upon  what 
people  know  about  you,  but  upon  their  guesses,  made  from  what 
they  see  of  you.  "We  have  lived  together  for  fifty  years,"  said 
the  Left  Hand,  "and  I  never  saw  him  do  one  charitable  action." 
That's  reputation.  But  all  the  time  the  generous  Right  Hand 
was  the  almoner  of  God,  working  in  loving  and  secret  fellowship 
with  Him.    That's  character. 

You  will  not  drink  wine,  not  even  for  politeness'  sake,  and 
at  the  table  of  an  esteemed  friend,  and  "our  best  society"  says 
you  are  a  fanatical,  bigoted  prohibitionist.  You  refuse  to  en- 
courage a  vile  story  with  a  smile.  Some  people  say  you  are  a 
cold-blooded  hypocrite.  You  will  not  permit  yourself  to  laugh 
at  a  funny  story,  well  told,  in  which  all  the  "laugh"  is  in  its  pro- 
fanity. And  folk  say  you  are  self-righteous.  And  you  carry 
your  Bible  in  your  hand  when  you  walk  to  Church.  And  they 
say  "a  canting  Pharisee."  Yet  all  the  while  your  character  is 
that  of  a  sober,  pure-minded,  reverent,  God-fearing  man — a 
Christian.  Four  reputations — all  bad,  and  one  character  which 
outweighs  and  outlasts  the  four,  going  into  eternity  with  you. 

Character — you  won't  find  the  word  in  your  Bible.  But 
there  you  learn  what  it  is.  The  Bible  isn't  a  dictionary — it's  a 
Teacher.  The  primary  meaning  of  the  word  "character"  is  an 
instrument  for  marking  or  graving;  commonly,  a  mark  en- 
graved upon  a  plate  of  stone  or  metal;  a  figure  cut  deeply  into 


CHARACTER— A  SERMONET  709 

a  plate  of  bronze  by  a  chisel  of  steel.  Now  you  begin  to  under- 
stand what  character  is? 

Something  which  your  daily  life  cuts  deep  and  deeper  into 
your  soul  day  by  day,  and  marks  you,  I  pray,  for  one  of  God's 
men  or  women,  even  a  special  one  among  His  millions.  "To  him 
that  overcometh  I  will  give  a  white  stone,  and  in  the  stone  [not 
on  it,  you  will  observe]  a  new  name  written,  which  no  man 
knoweth  save  he  that  receiveth  it."  Isn't  that  glorious?  ¥on- 
drously  glorious?  That  new  name,  graven  by  the  finger  of  God, 
in  exclusive  confidence  with  yourself,  deep  in  the  white  pebble 
of  your  life — that's  your  character.  Not  Simon,  as  men  called 
you,  but  Peter  by  the  dear  Lord's  re-christening.  What  God 
knows  you  are,  and  what  you  know  you  are.  Do  you  begin 
to  understand  what  your  character  is? 

Even  the  angels  may  never  fully  comprehend  your  true 
character.  John  quotes  Christ  as  saying  that  it  is  a  secret  be- 
tween God  and  yourself.  Maybe  God  himself  doesn't  quite 
know  your  new  name  yet.  He  is  learning  it  from  your  daily  life. 
Are  you  setting  him  fair  copy  for  that  new  name?  Every  day 
you  pray  the  heavenly  Father  to  watch  over  you  and  keep  you 
from  evil  in  your  actions.  Do  you  pray  just  as  earnestly  that  he 
will  watch  just  as  carefully  to  see  what  you  are  thinking,  hear 
what  you  are  whispering,  that  he  will  look  down  into  your  deep- 
est soul  to  note  what  are  your  secret  inclinations?  By  these 
things  you  are  shaping  your  character,  God  doesn't  make  it; 
you  do. 

Character  is  not  builded  up,  like  a  house  that  can  be  torn 
down  if  it  be  found  defective.  It  is  being  engraved,  day  by  day, 
deep,  deep,  deep  into  your  very  soul — the  immortal  part  of  you. 
You  can't  rub  it  out.  Should  you  try  to  cut  it  out,  it  will  leave 
a  hole  that  will  have  to  be  patched,  a  wound  that  may  heal,  but 
will  heal  with  a.  scar.  Character  stands.  And  you  can't  write 
your  charcter  in  the  ragged  vears  of  the  fag-end  of  a  misspent 
life. 

Christ  can  forgive  the  sins  of  a  penitent  thief  on  his  death- 
bed. But  he  can't  give  him  the  character  of  an  honest  man.  He 
was  a  thief  all  his  life,  and  in  death  he  is  just  a  forgiven  thief,  a 
pardoned  convict.  The  record  stands.  It  can't  be  changed  to 
show  that  the  convict  was  never  in  the  penitentiary. 

Do  you  begin  to  see  what  a  serious,  earnest,  prayerful  life- 
work  it  is,  the  graving  of  your  character? 

"As  a  man  thinketh,  so  he  is."  What  do  you  think  about 
when  you  are  alone?  How  do  you  act  when  there  is  no  audi- 
ence? What  manner  of  creature  are  you  "in  the  dark"?  What 
are  your  thoughts  and  inclinations  when  you  think  God  isn't 
looking?     What  is  your  real  name? — Selected. 


Weighed  in  the  Balance 


By  Charles  W.  Kingston 


Stephen  Jensen  returned  late  from  town.  The  night  was 
dark  and  cold,  the  wind  piercing,  and  the  snow  drifting  until  the 
roads  were  almost  impassable.  Jensen  had  been  gone  three  days 
and  Mrs.  Jensen  had  been  much  worried  about  him.  There 
were  the  canyon  roads  and  slides  to  encounter.  The  day  he  left 
it  had  been  thawing  and  the  snow  had  slid  from  the  mountain 
south  of  the  house  and  piled  up  on  the  meadow  at  the  foot  of 
the  hill  and  it  was  possible  that  Jensen  would  encounter  just 
such  a  slide.  So  it  was  with  no  small  feeling  of  relief  that  Mrs. 
Jensen  heard  her  husband  stop  the  horses  just  outside  that 
stormy  night.  "Take  the  horses  and  put  them  up,  your  father 
will  be  cold  after  such  a  ride,"  were  Mrs.  Jensen's  first  words  to 
the  two  older  boys  and  Jensen  was  soon  seated  by  the  warm  fire 
while  his  good  wife  busied  herself  putting  his  supper  on  the 
table. 

As  Stephen  ate  his  supper  he  was  very  thoughtful.  His 
wife's  anxious  questions,  he  would  answer  in  the  shortest  way 
possible.  His  mind  was  filled  with  the  awe  of  the  storm  and  the 
recent  worries  of  the  road.  In  some  places  the  horses  were 
unable  to  follow  it  and  if  one  of  the  faithful  animals  stepped 
a  little  too  far  to  the  side  he  would  be  floundering  almost  help- 
lessly in  the  deep.  Jensen  would  have  waited  for  the  storm  to 
pass,  but  the  folks  at  home  were  expecting  him,  so,  true  to  his 
duty,  he  had  made  his  way  home. 

But  there  was  another  matter  upon  Jensen's  mind  that 
weighed  heavier  than  the  memory  of  the  storm  or  the  road  or 
the  difficulties  he  had  encountered  in  braving  them.  For  that 
reason  he  was  loth  to  have  to  meet  his  family  and  admit  to 
them  the  truth.  Stephen  had  been  married  fifteen  years,  during 
which  time  he  and  Nellie  had  lived  happily  together.  They 
were  the  proud  parents  of  six  children,  four  boys  and  two  girls, 
who  were  just  at  that  age  when  they  earned  little  and  used  much. 
The  means  to  support  such  a  family  is  no  small  thing.  The 
question  that  Stephen  so  dreaded  from  his  wife  came  at  last.  He 
had  not  ventured  to  tell  her  for  he  knew  the  pain  it  would  send 
to  her  heart.  "Did  you  get  all  the  things  Steve?"  she  asked.  "I 
got  the  groceries,"  he  said,  "but  I  did  not  have  money  enough 
to  get  the  other  things.  "But  what  will  my  poor  children  do 
without  shoes.     They  are  dressed  hardly  enough  to  cover  their 


WEIGHED  IN  THE  BALANCE  711 

bodies.  Leo  and  Frank  are  wearing  gunnysacks  inside  their 
overshoes  and  the  overshoes  about  gone,  too.  The  little  ones 
must  stay  in  the  house  as  they  have  nothing  to  keep  their  little 
feet  out  of  the  snow."  There  was  no  need  for  Mrs.  Jensen  to 
remind  her  husband  of  these  things.  He  already  knew  them  too 
well,  but  it  seemed  to  relieve  her  to  tell  them,  so  Stephen  sat  in 
silence,  although  it  was  like  pouring  hot  coals  upon  him.  He 
had  only  said:  "I  can't  help  it,  my  dear;  I  can't  help  it."  She 
then  continued,  almost  wildly:  "Can't  help  it?  There  isn't  an- 
other family  around  here  that  don't  dress  their  children  better 
than  we  do.  There's  Anderson's  who  have  had  no  better  chance 
than  we  have  had,  and  they  have  a  buggy  to  go  to  town  and 
meeting  in,  besides  they  don't  have  to  keep  their  children  from 
Sunday  School  and  meetings  for  the  want  of  Sunday  clothes,  and 
here  we  can't  hardly  keep  ours  covered  for  every  day,  and  no 
shoes." 

Something  in  his  wife's  words  had  set  Stephen  to  thinking 
how  it  was  that  his  neighbor  could  feed  and  clothe  his  family 
properly  on  the  same  amount  of  land  as  he  had.  They  had  come 
to  the  country  together,  had  bought  forty  acres  each  of  the  same 
eighty,  both  were  hard  workers  but  for  some  reason  there  was 
a  difference,  but  Steve  had  never  thought  of  it  that  way  before. 
Anderson  had  just  built  a  new  house,  kept  his  family  well,  and 
seemed  to  be  prospering,  while  Jensen's  family  lived  in  the  same 
log  cabin,  and  had  now  reached  the  time  when  their  income  was 
insufficient  to  meet  their  needs.  He  had  one  team;  and  the  two 
cows  that  furnished  the  family  with  milk  were  getting  old.  Jen- 
sen had  to  sell  the  calves  as  soon  as  they  were  ready  for  veal, 
while  neighbor  Anderson  had  kept  his  calves  and  was  getting 
quite  a  herd  around  him  which  of  course  helped  the  income. 

When  the  boys  came  in  from  tending  the  horses  they  carried 
the  box  of  groceries  in,  and  before  retiring  Mrs.  Jensen  carefully 
took  the  different  articles  out  of  the  box  and  put  them  away  in 
the  cupboard.  Among  the  articles  she  found  two  bills  and  tak- 
ing them  up  she  saw  that  one  was  the  itemized  bill  of  the  things 
that  Stephen  had  brought  home,  and  the  other  one  was  neighbor 
Anderson's.  Stephen  had  brought  a  month's  supply  out  for 
Anderson  also,  and  left  it  at  his  house  as  he  passed.  The  clerk 
a*  the  grocery  had  evidently  put  both  bills  in  Jensen's  box  by 
mistake.  "What  is  Anderson's  bill  doing  in  our  box?"  Mrs. 
Jensen  asked  of  her  husband.  "I  don't  know,"  was  his  reply, 
"let  me  see  it."  As  he  remembered  from  ordering  there  was 
little  difference  between  the  two  bills  of  groceries,  but  since  a 
question  had  arisen  in  his  mind,  and  he  reached  for  the  bills 
thinking  that  they  might  throw  a  little  light  on  the  subject. 

After  breakfast  the  next  morning  Stephen  walked  over  to 
neighbor  Anderson's.     He  had  slept  but  little  the  night  previous 


712  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

for  he  had  thought  much  over  his  state  of  affairs,  and  before 
he  closed  his  eyes  in  sleep,  in  the  early  hours  of  the  morning,  he 
decided  to  have  a  talk  with  his  old  friend,  Jim.  He  did  not  like 
to  acknowledge  his  condition  on  account  of  his  pride,  but  as 
any  one  could  almost  read  the  truth  by  looking  at  his  children's 
clothes,  he  knew  that  he  only  would  be  admitting  what  was 
already  well  known.  It  was  nothing  new  for  him  to  go  over 
to  Anderson's,  especially  in  the  winter,  when  the  work  is  not  so 
crowding.  Jensen  found  his  neighbor  in  the  barn.  He  greeted 
him  as  usual.  It  was  very  hard  for  Steve  to  bring  himself  to 
his  subject,  but  after  discussing  the  weather,  roads,  and  other 
things,  he  finally  said:  "Well,  Jim,  I  came  this  morning  on  a 
very  peculiar  errand.  You  and  I  came  to  this  country  together. 
We  had  just  married  the  two  girls  of  our  choice  and  settled  here 
to  make  a  living  and  a  home.  I  did  very  well  up  until  the  last 
year  or  two  in  regard  to  providing  a  living,  but  now  it  seems 
that  I  have  reached  the  place  where  my  family  is  too  large  or 
the  farm  too  small,  or  something.  Last  time  I  went  to  town,  I 
only  had  enough  to  buy  what  few  groceries  we  needed,  and  our 
children  are  without  shoes.  Their  clothing  is  insufficient  to 
keep  them  warm,  and,  to  tell  the  truth,  we  don't  know  what 
to  do.  The  farm  is  still  under  mortgage  and  I  am  afraid  that 
we  are  not  going  to  be  able  to  make  a  go  of  it  unless  something 
unexpected  comes  up."  James  Anderson  truly  sympathized 
with  Jensen  and  his  family,  as  a  good  neighbor  should.  Steve 
continued,  "I  did  not  come  to  ask  you  for  money  to  help  us, 
Jim,  but  I  thought  that  you  might  be  able  to  tell  me  why  it  is 
that  you  are  prospering  and  I  am  not,  and  if  you  can,  then  I 
consider  that  you  will  have  done  me  a  greater  favor  than  if  you 
had  given  me  money." 

Neighbor  Anderson,  being  touched  by  his  friend's  humble 
confession,  and  desiring  to  help  him,  led  the  way  into  the  house 
where  he  was  warmly  greeted  by  Mrs.  Anderson  and  the  children 
who  asked  him  why  he  had  not  brought  Nellie  and  the  children 
with  him.  To  save  Stephen  any  embarrassment  James  inter- 
rupted, "He  has  come  to  talk  over  a  little  matter,  and  we  would 
like  a  room  to  ourselves."  To  which  Mrs.  Anderson  kindly  con- 
ceded. As  he  passed  the  cupboard  James  took  some  slips  of 
paper  out  which  he  held  in  his  hand. 

Seating  themselves  in  the  room,  after  closing  the  door, 
neighbor  Anderson  commenced  very  kindly,  "Well,  Steve,  I  am 
so  glad  that  you  have  come  here  today.  I  almost  realized  your 
condition,  and  would  have  broached  the  subject  to  you  if  only 
I  had  dared.  I  was  afraid,  however,  because  I  thought  I  might 
offend  and  make  an  enemy  of  you,  and  I  felt  that  we  had  lived 
here  as  neighbors  too  long  to  have  anything  mar  our  friendship. 
Just  last  night  my  attention  was  more  closely  drawn  to  this  very 


WEIGHED  IN  THE  BALANCE  713 

subject.  You  know  that  you  stopped  and  brought  my  groceries 
in  as  you  passed,  and  when  Mabel  was  placing  them  in  the  cup- 
board she  found  the  bills  for  both  your  groceries  and  mine  in 
the  box,  and  here  they  are."  "Now,  that's  strange,"  said  Steve, 
wondering,  "both  bills  were  in  our  box  also,  but  I  see  now  the 
clerk  has  put  the  original  bills  in  with  your  groceries  and  in 
mine  the  carbon  copies.  It  seems  to  have  been  a  mistake." 
"That  part  doesn't  matter  so  much,"  said  James,  "but  I  believe 
that  from  a  close  study  of  these  two  bills  will  be  found  the  rea- 
son of  my  success  and  your  failure.  You  have  worked  just  as 
hard  and  intelligently  as  I  have,  we  have  planted  practically  the 
same  crops,  from  year  to  year,  and  I  believe  the  only  difference 
lies  in  the  things  that  these  two  bills  plainly  show.  This  time 
we  seemed  to  have  purchased  almost  the  same  things  and  this 
serves  to  show  the  difference  more  plainly.  We  will  now  con- 
sider the  bills.     Mine  is  as  follows: 

Flour $  4.85 

Sugar 2.35 

Matches 05 

Salt   25 

Cinnamon    15 

Oatmeal  80 

Cornmeal  .40 

Beans    50 

Rice    90 

Dried  fruit  1.20 

$11.45 

We  will  now  look  over  your  bill  which  is  as  follows: 

Flour    $  4.85 

Matches   20 

Baking  powder   25 

Coffee  I...". 1.05 

Tea    50 

Sugar 2.50 

Chewing  tobacco  60 

Smoking  tobacco 1-20 

Rolled  oats  15 

Cornmeal  1-20 

Rice    I-40 

Beans    50 

..      .50 

$14.90 

"It  happens  that  our  bills  are  very  much  alike  this  month 
with  the  exception  of  the  tobacco,  the  coffee  and  the  tea,  and  I 
believe  that  these  small  items  have  made  the  difference  of  which 
we  have  spoken."  Steve  looked  surprised  but  said  nothing. 
"On  your  bill  you  have  four  boxes  of  matches  to  light  your 


714  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

smokes,  three  pounds  of  coffee,  two  pounds  of  tea,  $1.20  for 
smoking  and  sixty  cents  for  chewing  tobacco,  making  a  total  of 
$3.45  a  month,  on  your  bill  that  is  not  on  mine.  These  items 
have  been  there  fifteen  years.  Don't  you  think  that  they  have 
a  pretty  solid  place  there  when  they  will  even  displace  shoes  and 
clothing  for  the  children?  Three  dollars  and  forty-five  cents 
a  month  is  $41.40  a  year.  Suppose  you  had  kept  this  amount 
to  buy  things  you  really  needed,  and  kept  some  of  those  calves 
that  you  thought  you  had  to  sell?  We  have  $41.40  the  first  year, 
the  second  year  we  add  the  same  amount,  with  10%  interest, 
which  gives  us  the  sum  of  $86.94,  at  the  end  of  the  second  year. 
If  we  keep  on  adding  this  amount  with  the  interest  for  fifteen 
years  we  will  have  the  sum  of  $1,331.30.  You  will  realize  that 
had  you  saved  your  calves  and  colts  instead  of  smoking  them  up, 
you  would  have  made  more  than  10%  interest.  I  do  not  think 
that  we  would  be  far  off  if  we  say  that,  had  you  and  your  family 
been  observers  of  the  Word  of  Wisdom  you  would  have  been 
as  far  on,  or  farther  ahead  than  me  and  my  family.  These  things 
not  only  rob  your  bank  account,  but  they  weaken  your  body  and 
affect  your  brain.  I  think  that  if  the  German  scientist  who  in- 
vented the  device  to  measure  the  efficiency  of  men  should  make 
some  investigations  in  regard  to  tobacco,  tea  and  coffee,  he  would 
find  that  they  are  almost  as  harmful  as  rum  in  lowering  one's 
powers. 

"There  is  also  another  and  more  important  side  to  this  ques- 
tion, What  we  have  already  said  has  had  to  do  with  the  tem- 
poral, but  I  believe  that  the  spiritual  side  is  more  important 
still.  While  it  is  very  true  that  all  people  who  are  users  of 
these  things  do  not  lack  the  necessities  of  life  because  of  them, 
yet  we  have  clearly  shown  what  a  needless  load  they  are  to  carry, 
and  I  believe  we  would  be  safe  in  assuming  that  a  large  per  cent 
of  the  children  who  are  poorly  clothed  and  half  fed  owe  this 
condition  to  these  very  things.  Now  so  far  as  spiritual  life  is 
concerned  you  cannot  use  tobacco  and  advance,  you  have  reached 
your  limit  of  progress  until  such  a  time  as  you  are  able  to  be- 
come the  master  of  tobacco.  Tobacco,  coffee  and  tea  are  keep- 
ing you  and  your  wife  and  children  away  from  Sunday  School 
and  meetings.  You  don't  feel  that  you  can  dress  them  fit  to 
attend  these  services,  and  therefore  the  children  are  missing  the 
very  teachings  they  so  badly  need  to  protect  them  from  tempta- 
tion and  sin.  They  will  build  up  improper  ideals,  and  I  think 
I  will  be  safe  in  saying  that  they  are  very  apt  to  marry  into  the 
poorest  families  instead  of  the  best  families  in  the  community. 
When  I  say  poor  I  do  not  refer  to  dollars  and  cents,  but  to 
ideals.  I  fail  to  understand  why  any  woman  will  sit  meekly  by 
and  see  her  husband  smoke  and  chew  away  a  part  of  the  income, 
especially  at  the  expense  of  shoes  and  clothing,  and  many  times 


WEIGHED  IN  THE  BALANCE  715 

food  for  the  family,  also,  at  the  expense  of  the  lofty  ideals  that 
it  is  every  wife's  right  to  demand  shall  be  taught  and  lived  into 
the  lives  of  her  children. 

"And  for  those  who  can  use  these  things  without  depriving 
their  families  of  the  necessities  of  life,  would  they  not  be  able 
to  make  a  name  for  themselves  in  self  sacrifice  if  they  would 
donate  the  money  where  it  is  needed?  What  a  lot  of  mission- 
aries it  would  keep!  What  a  mass  of  advertising  it  would  do 
to  get  the  gospel  message  before  people  whom  it  would  bless! 
What  hospitals  it  would  build,  schools,  libraries  and  other  great 
institutions,  and  in  these  uses  it  would  be  blessing  instead  of 
damning  the  world." 

As  Stephen  Jensen  walked  toward  home,  he  drew  a  deep 
breath,  and  with  his  head  erect,  and  his  mouth  set  in  determina- 
tion, he  became  as  a  soldier  going  to  battle.  He  was  going  home 
to  set  his  house  in  order.  When  he  reached  the  house,  he  called 
the  family  together  and  taking  the  tobacco,  the  coffee  and  the 
tea  out  of  the  places  they  had  occupied  for  fifteen  years,  he 
placed  them  on  the  table.  "My  wife  and  children,"  he  said  with 
emotion,  "mother  asked  me  last  night  why  we  could  not  have 
shoes  and  clothing  and  other  desirable  things  like  our  neighbors 
have.  I  pondered  and  studied  on  it  most  of  the  night,  without 
knowing  why,  and  did  not  go  to  sleep  until  I  had  decided  to  go 
and  see  what  neighbor  Anderson  knew  about  it.  He  showed  and 
proved  to  me  beyond  a  doubt  that  these  are  what  have  deprived 
u^  of  the  things  that  we  now  so  sorely  need;  not  only  that,  but 
that  they  are  damning  us  spiritually,  because  they  already  have 
us  on  the  road  that  leads  to  destruction.  I  have  decided  for  my 
part  to  throw  them  to  the  winds.  First  our  family  has  been 
token  from  under  the  influence  of  the  Church,  for  want  of 
clothes.  For  this  cause  they  associate  with  people  of  the  same 
class,  and  when  they  become  older  they  are  sure  to  marry  men 
who  use  tobacco  and  perhaps  rum,  because  our  way  of  living 
has  placed  them  in  this  condition.  Now,  I  want  you  all  to  stand 
by  me  in  my  decision,  and  let  us  resolve  with  a  firm  determina- 
tion to  turn  our  backs  on  these  enemies  of  our  race." 

It  is  needless  to  say  that  Nellie,  the  dear  wife  and  her  chil- 
dren, supported  Stephen  in  this  his  firm  resolve,  and  that  in  that 
very  hour  a  month's  supply  of  body-weakening,  soul-destroying 
junk  was  consigned  to  the  flames  and  that  Stephen  Jensen  and 
his  family  started  upward  and  became  an  influence  for  good  in 
the  community  instead  of  a  dead  load  that  held  it  back. 

Idaho  Falls,  Idaho 


The  Girl  who  Changed  her  Mind 


By  Henry  Nicol  Adamson 


It  was  at  six  o'clock  each  morning  that  old  Penelope  ap- 
peared in  the  great,  dreary  waiting-room  of  an  English  railway 
depot.  And  what  can  look  more  dreary  than  a  depot  waiting- 
room  in  the  early  hours,  before  even  the  fire  has  been  lighted 
to  give  it  a  semblance  of  cheerfulness?  But  Penelope  did  not 
think  it  dreary  in  the  least.  For  one  thing,  she  had  no  time. 
The  grate  had  to  be  cleaned  out  and  the  fire  laid.  Then  the 
floor  was  large,  and  took  some  time  to  go  over.  And  by  the  time 
it  was  all  done,  and  the  firelight  glittering  on  the  wet  linoleum, 
to  the  old  woman's  eyes  it  seemed  quite  a  cheerful  spot.  And  it 
was  her  sitting-room  for  all  day,  too. 

For  nine  long  years  she  had  washed  that  floor  in  the  early 
hours,  till  she  knew  the  exact  spots  where  the  pattern  had 
worn  off  the  linoleum,  but  it  was  just  a  year  since  Nellie  Calder, 
who  used  to  look  after  the  waiting-room  during  the  day,  died; 
and  Penelope  had  been  asked  to  fill  her  place  for  a  day  or 
two.  She  was  filling  it  yet,  and  probably  would  fill  it  till  death 
claimed  her,  too. 

It  was  hard  work,  for  she  had  to  hurry  home  after  her  clean- 
ing to  her  English  attic  room,  to  get  into  her  rusty  black  that 
she  might  not  disgrace  her  proud  position.  Then  for  the  rest 
of  the  day  the  world  was  bounded  for  her  by  the  smoke-black- 
ened wall  of  the  great  depot.  But  then,  what  a  world  it  was! 
Penelope's  old  head  was  full  of  stories  she  had  seen  or  heard,  or 
imagined,  about  the  people  who  passed  through.  And  since  the 
war  began  the  great  depot  had  become  quite  thrilling.  What 
partings  Penelope  had  seen,  and  what  meetings,  too! 

"What  a  frightfully  dull  life  you  must  have  here,  you  poor 
old  creature!"  a  lady  remarked  one  day,  looking  at  the  wrinkled 
old  woman  out  of  a  soft  nest  of  black  fur.  She  wore  a  black 
fur  hat,  and  a  black  fur  stole,  and  a  black  fur  jacket;  and  on 
her  knee  was  a  huge  granny  muff;  and  Penelope  admired  her 
immensely. 

"Would  you  mind  poking  the  fire  for  me  and  putting  on 
more  coal?  I  should  die  if  I  had  to  remain  in  this  dreadful 
place." 

Penelope  gazed  at  her  in  genuine  amazement.  She  always 
was  amazed  when  people  pitied  her. 

"It  may  seem  dreadful  to  you,  ma'am,  but  not  to  me,"  she 


THE  GIRL  WHO  CHANGED  HER  MIND  717 

said  mildly.  "It's  nice  to  have  a  fire  to  sit  by,  and  people  are 
getting  to  know  me,  and  it's  'Good  morning,  Penelope!'  and 
'How  are  you  today?'  So  it's  never  lonesome.  And  there's  wed- 
dings, and  there's  funerals  to  be  seen  going  through  here.  And 
the  brave  lads  in  khaki  going  away  so  proud!  Yes,  it's  like  one 
big  story  book.  Not  that  I've  read  much  out  of  books,  ma'am. 
There  wasn't  much  learning  in  my  young  days  in  England.  But 
there's  many  a  story  outside  of  books." 

The  lady  stared  at  this  queer  old  creature  who  actually 
seemed  quite  contented  with  her  lot. 

A  little,  elderly  gentleman  appeared  just  then  with  the  in- 
telligence that  time  was  up. 

"I  do  hope  your  poor  feet  are  warmer  now,  my  love?"  he 
said  solicitously.  "I  have  spoken  very  severely  to  the  guard 
about  the  poor  heating  of  the  train." 

"Thanks!"  the  lady  said  languidly,  rising.  And  without 
another  look  or  thought  for  the  old  woman,  followed  the  gentle- 
man to  the  platform. 

"Might  be  her  grandfather  for  age,  but  much  too  fussy,"  old 
Penelope  decided  shrewdly.  "Rich  old  husband,"  and  she  went 
to  the  door  of  her  waiting-room  to  watch  the  couple  to  their 
carriage.  She  saw  the  girl  establish  herself,  while  her  husband 
wrapped  a  rug  about  her  knees.  Then  she  saw  the  old  gentle- 
man run  to  the  bookstall  at  the  last  minute  for  some  special 
paper  for  which  his  wife  had  asked — at  the  imminent  risk  of 
losing  his  life  or  the  train — for  the  latter  was  moving  when  the 
angry  guard  pushed  him  in  and  closed  the  door. 

And  Penelope  went  back  to  her  place  by  the  fire  and  the 
khaki  stockings  she  was  knitting,  shaking  her  head  over  the  ways 
of  the  rich.  "There's  them  that  never  thinks  they  have  enough, 
and  she's  one  of  them,"  she  decided.  "And  the  more  he  gives 
her,  the  more  she'll  want."  And  Penelope  had,  without  knowing 
it,  struck  at  the  root  of  a  lot  of  the  unhappiness  of  the  world. 

It  was  about  half  an  hour  later  that  same  afternoon  that 
Penelope  sat  in  the  gathering  twilight,  her  stocking  in  her  lap, 
a  rather  thin  and  ugly  cat  purring  contentedly  on  top  of  it. 

Penelope  was  nodding.  She  nodded  at  this  special  time 
every  afternoon,  because  there  was  a  slackening  of  trains  just 
then,  and  in  the  covered-in  depot  it  grew  very  dark  before  the 
lights  were  put  on — too  dark  to  knit.  So  this  was  the  cat's  half 
hour,  and  puss  knew  it  as  well  as  she  did.  She  was  nodding,  and 
dreaming  that  she  was  gathering  flowers  on  the  hillside  by  the 
cottage  where  she  had  been  a  child,  and  that  she  heard  the  rush 
of  the  hill  water-fall — it  was  just  a  train  letting  off  steam  in 
reality— when  the  door  opened  and  a  girl  entered,  and  drawing 
a  chair  toward  the  fire  roused  Penelope  to  real  life  again. 

"Oh,  my  dear!     I'm  afraid  I  was  asleep!"  she  said  apolo- 


718  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

getically.  I  was  having  a  fine  dream — that  I  was  a  child  again  in 
the  country.  Not  that  I'd  like  to  have  life  all  to  go  over  again; 
for  I've  buried  my  father  and  my  mother,  my  husband  and  my 
children.  But  I've  little  to  complain  of — for  there  were  no  quar- 
rels among  us  to  speak  of,  and  I've  been  provided  for  most  won- 
derful. There's  ups  and  downs  in  life,  but  take  it  all  in  all,  it's 
good." 

"Do  you  mean  to  tell  me,"  the  girl  said  in  a  sharp,  fretful 
voice,  "that  you  think  life  worth  living?  I  don't  see  how  you 
can!"  and  she  cast  a  disparaging  glance  round  the  waiting-room. 

"Aren't  we  allowed  any  lights  in  here?"  she  added  impa- 
tiently.    "I  can't  even  read!" 

Penelope  stirred  the  fire  slightly,  so  that  a  flickering  flame 
showed  her  the  girl's  face — pretty,  but  for  the  frown  on  the 
brow,  and  the  discontent  of  eyes  and  lips.  "We're  not  lit  up 
for  half  an  hour  yet,  and  not  much  even  then  for  fear  of  the 
Zeppelins!"  she  said  apologetically.  And  then  she  went  on 
talking,  partly  to  pass  the  time,  and  partly  because  she  liked 
to  talk. 

"You  see,  it's  this  way,  miss,"  she  said,  stroking  the  cat. 
"Looking  back,  I  sometimes  wonder  how  I  got  through.  But  at 
the  time  it  wasn't  so  bad,  for  there  was  always  something  to  do 
for  those  who  were  ill,  and  when  they  were  gone — there  were 
things  to  do  for  those  that  were  left  alive.  And  if  you  do  the 
thing  you've  got  to  do  at  the  time,  it  usually  comes  out  right. 
However,  that's  what  I've  found,  miss.  Same  as  the  war.  We'd 
just  got  to  go  in,  and  ain't  it  turning  out  all  right? 

"I  remember  once,  when  I  was  a  young  thing,  being  sorely 
tempted  to  leave  my  old  mother,  who  was  bedridden,  and  go  to 
the  large  cities.  Other  girls  done  so,  and  saw  a  bit  of  the  world. 
Why  shouldn't  I?  And  I  got  cross  and  restless,  and  made  up 
my  mind  to  go.  I  was  to  go  on  the  Tuesday.  But  on  the  Sunday 
previous  the  old  minister  preached  about  doing  the  duty  that 
lay  to  your  hand — about  people  who  turned  their  backs  upon 
the  duties  they  had,  and  went  out  to  look  for  others;  and  so  lost 
their  blessing — the  blessing  of  peace.  He  said  these  people  just 
got  more  and  more  discontented.  They  never  found  what  they 
wanted,  because  they  started  wrong. 

"I  didn't  go  away.  It  seemed  to  me,  miss,  that  God  had 
sent  me  a  message,  as  he  used  to  do  to  people  in  the  Bible.  So 
I  stayed  at  home  and  looked  after  my  old  mother  to  the  end. 
And  then  I  married,  and  attended  to  the  wants  of  my  husband 
and  children.  And  I  never  forgot  that  sermon,  and  never  will 
— for  it's  helped  me  all  through  life.  I've  always  just  done  the 
duty  that  came,  and  you'd  wonder  how  simple  it's  made  things. 

"And  now  I'm  all  by  myself.  But  I've  got  my  work  to  do; 
and  when  I  dose  by  the  fire  I'm  young  again  at  times.       And 


THE  GIRL  WHO  CHANGED  HER  MIND  719 

sometimes  my  children  are  with  me.  I'm  not  crying,  miss,  don't 
think  it!"  Penelope  added,  passing  the  back  of  her  hand 
over  her  eyes.  "But  you've  set  me  talking.  I've  nothing  to  cry 
about,  for  I've  plenty  of  work,  and  people  are  very  kind  to  me. 
Then  there  are  the  cats  that  all  know  and  like  Penelope.  And 
the  soldiers  have  all  a  kind  word  in  the  passing,  bless  them." 
The  cat  purred  loudly,  and  the  old  woman  smiled  with  pride. 
"Hark  to  it!"  she  said.  "I  do  believe  it  knows  what  I'm  saying. 
Yes,  I've  a  lot  to  be  thankful  for — a  peaceful  and  contented 
mind." 

The  girl  had  sat  listening — and  as  she  listened,  a  change 
came  over  her  face — the  frown  and  discontent  which  had  utterly 
married  it  melted  away — it  was  as  if  a  cloud  had  passed 
from  the  sky,  leaving  the  beautiful  blue. 

"If  that's  your  train,  miss,  you've  hardly  time  to  get  it,  for 
it  just  stops  for  a  minute!"  Penelope  remarked  as  a  train  came 
up  with  a  rush  and  a  roar. 

The  girl  rose  to  her  feet,  and  stood  hesitating  for  a  moment. 

"Thanks,"  she  said,  then  in  a  low  voice,  "I  don't  think  I 
shall  go  by  it  after  all.     Good  night!" 

Penelope  looked  after  her  with  a  puzzled  expression.  She 
had  noticed  the  changed  countenance,  but  she  could  not  account 
for  it. 

It  was  a  year  later,  and  a  very  frosty  morning,  and  Penelope 
was  at  her  place  the  same  as  ever.  It  was  still  the  same  hat  and 
the  same  dress,  but  they  never  seemed  to  grow  any  older,  any 
more  than  Penelope  herself  did.  Perhaps  they  had  reached  a 
stage  when  it  was  impossible  to  grow  older.  Cold  as  it  was, 
Penelope,  looked  wonderfully  cheerful.  There  is  something 
exhilarating  about  very  frosty  weathy,  she  found.  It  seemed 
to  sting  people  to  fresh  life — people,  who,  as  a  rule  would  have 
stood  listlessly  about,  stamped  and  blew,  and  flapped  their  arms. 
And  the  school  children  always  brought  a  positive  rush  of  life 
and  cold  into  the  waiting-room  with  them,  and  she  had  hard 
work  to  prevent  them  from  ruining  their  shoes  for  ever  by  plac- 
ing them  on  the  bars  of  the  grate,  not  to  speak  of  poking  the 
fire  with  their  toes. 

"The  which  is  sure  ruination,  my  dears!"  as  she  remarked 
to  them.  They  laughed  at  her  gaily.  What  was  the  ruination 
of  shoes  to  them?  They  were  rather  fond  of  getting  new  ones. 
Penelope  herself  found  the  intense  cold  rather  trying,  for  she 
had  no  extra  wraps;  but  she  liked  to  see  other  people  enjoying 
the  best,  and  if  her  back  was  kept  cold  by  the  draughts  from 
the  opening  and  shutting  doors,  she  could  always  keep  her  feet 
warm  which  was  more  than  a  lot  of  poor  creatures  could  do. 


720  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

More   than  the   soldiers   could   do,   poor  fellows,   in  their  wet 
trenches. 

She  had  just  sent  the  riotous  children  off  to  the  train  that 
was  to  bear  them  to  school,  and  had  retired  gladly  to  her  fire 
again,  when  the  door  opened  and  someone  came  quickly  across 
the  floor. 

It  was  a  girl  dressed  in  black — a  girl  with  fair  hair  framing 
a  fair  face — a  face  at  once  peaceful  and  happy.  Penelope  re- 
garded her  with  pleasure  and  admiration.  There  were  all  dif- 
ferent kinds  of  faces,  and  different  kinds  of  prettiness  she  had 
discovered  since  she  became  the  guardian  of  the  waiting-room. 
There  was  beauty  of  complexion  and  feature,  that  after  all 
turned  out  not  to  be  beauty  at  all,  because  there  was  no  happi- 
ness nor  sweetness  to  light  it.  But  this  girl  had  what  old  Pene- 
lope felt  to  be  real  beauty.  "Good  morning,  ma'am.  Fine 
seasonable  weather!"  she  said  cheerfully. 

Sudden  tears  dimmed  the  blue  eyes  of  the  girl,  who  had 
been  regarding  her  steadily. 

"Oh,  you're  just  perished  with  cold,  I  can  see  that!"  she 
said  impulsively.  "You  should  have  warm  mitts  and  a  warm 
shawl,  and  you  shall,  too.  But  you'd  never  dream  of  complain- 
ing, I  know  that.  I  ought  to  know — for  it  taught  me  a  lesson — 
the  lesson  I  have  come  back  this  morning  to  thank  you  for. 
Don't  you  recognize  me?" 

She  stood  before  the  fireplace  and  looked  down  at  the  old 
woman. 

Penelope  peered  up  at  her — then  shook  her  head. 

"I  seem  somehow  to  know  your  face,"  she  said  apologetic- 
ally. "And  yet  I  don't;  and  I'm  not  one,  remember,  that  forgets 
— though  I  do  see  a  lot." 

"Do  you  remember,"  the  other  said — "a  year  ago  now — one 
afternoon  telling  a  girl  your  story — the  story  of  how  you  grew 
discontented,  and  were  going  to  leave  your  old  mother,  but  for 
a  sermon  that  stopped  you,  and  gave  you  something  to  cling  to 
through  life — a  rule  to  go  by?     Do  you  remember  now?" 

"Yes,  I  do  remember,"  Penelope  said  after  a  moment's 
thought.  "I  remember  the  girl  seemed  discontented  and  un- 
happy, and  I'd  have  liked  to  help  her  if  I  could,  but  there's 
nothing  the  like  of  me  can  do." 

"Well,  you  just  did  everything,"  the  girl  said  in  a  low 
voice.  "Listen,  and  I  will  tell  you  what  you  did.  I  am  that 
gjrl — what  you  made  of  her."  And  she  smiled,  though  tears  still 
glistened  in  her  eyes. 

"That  afternoon,"  she  went  on,  seating  herself  before  the 
fire,  and  looking  into  it  as  if  seeing  in  its  red  heart  the 
picture  she  drew.  "I  had  turned  my  back  upon  my  home — 
upon  duties  that  I  found  irksome — and  that   I  thought  quite 


THE  GIRL  WHO  CHANGED  HER  MIND  721 

unworthy  of  the  talents  I  imagined  myself  to  have.  I  had  a 
fragile  old  mother  who  needed  a  good  deal  of  attention;  an  old 
father,  often  fretful,  trying,  and  exacting.  It  was  ridiculous 
that  I  should  stay  at  home  there  wasting  my  talent  for  nursing 
upon  them,  when  I  might  go  and  be  a  real  nurse.  I  told  myself 
it  was  my  duty  to  go  and  nurse  the  soldiers.  There  was  a  cry 
for  nurses,  and  it  would  be  so  interesting — not  dull,  like  the 
nursing  I  had  to  do!  I  wanted  to  help  my  country,  to  do  some- 
thing for  our  brave  boys! 

"That  was  what  I  said  to  myself.  What  I  really  wanted 
was  work  with  a  little  more  excitement,  a  little  more  show 
about  it.  I  didn't  want  the  duties  to  my  hand.  I  wanted  to  go 
out  and  look  for  duties  for  myself.  My  father  and  mother  had 
a  small  income.  They  had  a  roof  over  their  heads,  and  a  little 
maid  to  do  the  work  for  them.  What  more  could  they  want? 
What  right  had  they  to  expect  me  to  remain  at  home  attending 
to  them — putting  up  with  all  their  little  ways?  It  was  ridicu- 
lous! I  was  not  needed,  and  I  was  not  appreciated  there.  I 
would  go  where  I  would  be!  The  soldiers  seemed  always  so 
cheerful!     It  would  be  a  pleasure  to  work  for  them!" 

"Yes,  yes!"  old  Penelope  put  in,  "I  know  the  feeling." 
"I  had  a  friend  in  a  hospital,  and  she  told  me  of  a  vacancy 
as  probationer.  I  was  on  my  way  to  see  about  it  that  afternoon 
a  year  ago,"  the  girl  went  on.  "If  I'd  gone  I  would  have  been 
accepted,  for  the  matron  was  a  friend  of  my  friend,  and  was 
keeping  the  position  open  for  me.  Besides,  of  course,  they  re- 
quire a  lot  of  nurses  just  now.  But — but  I  didn't  go.  You 
spoke  of  that  old  minister's  sermon  seeming  like  God's  message 
to  you.  Your  words  were  God's  message  to  me.  I  had  the  sense 
— foolish  as  I  was — to  recognize  that — to  listen,  and  to  go  back 
to  the  duty  that  had  been  given  to  me.  And — Penelope,  I  went 
back  to  it  in  a  different  spirit.  I  looked  on  everything  with 
different  eyes.  For  the  first  time  I  saw  how  really  helpless  and 
dependent  my  old  mother  was — for  the  first  time  the  sight  smote 
my  heart,  and  I  remembered  her — strong  and  vigorous — always 
attending  to  our  wants — and  never  thinking  of  herself.  And 
then  my  old  father.  I  began  to  understand  that  he  was  fretful 
because  he  could  no  longer  help. 

"That  night,  with  my  arms  about  my  mother,  I  confessed  all 
the  selfish  wickedness  that  had  been  in  my  heart;  and  then  I 
started  afresh.  I  started  with  love  and  understanding  to  help 
me.  You  had  removed  the  scales  from  my  eyes,  and  I  saw  aright 
now.  I  found  that  I  was  needed  every  minute  of  the  day.  Both 
my  mother  and  father  grew  feebler,  and  they  looked  to  me  for 
everything;  and  it  was  a  joy  to  me  to  serve  them — to  feel  that 
I  was  indeed  needed.  Others  less  tied  could  nurse  the  soldiers 
— no  one  could  have  taken  my  place.     My  Red  Cross  was  here. 


722 


IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


"As  my  mother  was  dying  she  smiled  at  me  and  said — 'You 
haven't  found  your  burden  so  heavy  after  all,  my  girl.  I  scarcely 
think  you've  found  me  a  burden  this  last  while!' 

"My  father  died  within  a  few  days.  He  was  quite  unable  to 
live  without  my  mother;  and  then  my  hands  were  empty.  The 
duties  which  I  had  thought  so  irksome  a  short  time  before  were 
taken  from  me,  and  I  felt  lost." 

"Poor  child,  poor  child!"  Penelope  put  in,  wiping  a  tear 
from  her  eyes. 

"And  then — and  then,"  the  girl  went  on,  in  a  low  voice, 
"came  the  reward  I  scarcely  deserved,  and  which  I  would  have 
lost  for  ever  if  I  had  gone  my  own  selfish  way.  The  doctor  who 
bad  been  attending  my  father  and  mother  had  given  me  his 
heart.  He  said  he  could  not  help  loving  me,  seeing  me  so  loving 
and  devoted.  So — I  have  new  duties  now.  They  have  come  to 
my  hand,  Penelope,  and  I  felt  that  I  must  come  back  and  tell 
you  that  the  message  which  God  sent  to  you,  you  have  handed  on 
to  me.  And  I,  in  my  turn,  will  hand  it  on  to  others — so  that  the 
good  that  you  have  done  will  never  die." 

"Oh,  ma'am!"  old  Penelope  said  tremulously.  "I  never 
dreamt — " 

"No,  of  course  not,"  the  girl  said,  with  a  sweet  smile.  "We 
often  sow  a  seed  without  knowing  what  will  spring  from  it.  I 
dare  say  you  have  sown  many  seeds  here,  Penelope." 

And  she  stooped  hurriedly  and  kissed  the  old  woman's 
wrinkled  cheek — just  before  the  door  of  the  waiting-room 
opened,  and  a  stream  of  chilly  travelers  came  in. 


The  New  Presidency  of  Box  Elder  Stake. 

These  brethren  were  sustained  and  set  apart  as  the  Presidency  of  the 
Box  Elder  Stake  of  Zion,  on  March  18,  1917,  at  the  regular  quarterly  con- 
ference: S.  Norman  Lee,  president;  Victor  E.  Madsen,  first,  and  Joseph  N. 
Stohl,  second  counselor,  all  of  Brigham  City,  Utah. 


Moral  Education  of  the  Adolescent 


By  Newel  K.  Young 


X — The  One  Essential  Method 

There  is  just  one  vital  and  essential  method  in  education. 
It  is  the  contagion  of  influence  and  character — the  impelling  in- 
fluence of  one  personality  upon  another.  The  great  Teacher 
said  to  his  followers,  "Ye  are  the  salt  of  the  earth:  but  if  the 
salt  have  lost  his  savor,  wherewith  shall  it  be  salted?" 

President  King  well  says: 

"But  the  one  final  method  back  of  all  subsidiary  methods  is  the  contact 
of  life  with  life.  Ultimately  the  one  indispensable  thing  is  a  man  of  char- 
acter and  judgment,  and  the  honest  response  of  honest  souls  to  such  a  soul. 
Granted  that,  the  most  faulty  methods  cannot  wholly  fail.  Lacking  that,  the 
most  scientific  pedagogy  will  not  suffice.  The  method  of  contagion  of  the 
good  life  is  the  inevitable  method.    Finally  we  are  shut  up  to  that."*1 

Hear  these  prophetic  words  of  Frank  Cramer  as  a  witness 
to  the  same  truth: 

"There  is  a  latent  moral  power  in  our  half  million  common  school 
teachers  that  we  have  hardly  tested  yet.  When  they  become  fully  conscious 
of  it  themselves,  they  will  be  the  American  prophets  of  morality.  Even 
when  we  are  fully  agreed  on  what  moral  training  should  be  given,  we  have 
only  stated  the  problem.  The  solution  depends  upon  the  moral  quality  of 
the  teacher.  Earth's  greatest  religion  was  made  so  by  the  example  of  its 
founder.  At  the  end  of  its  long,  historical  vista  stands  his  great  person- 
ality and  dissolves  all  moral  questions  into  a  personal  relation.  *  *  *  * 
Moral  enthusiasm  is  the  leaven  of  the  school  as  well  as  of  society.  Children 
are  the  first  to  recognize  both  disinterested  service  and  its  opposite.  A 
teacher  who  has  her  hat  and  gloves  on  when  the  dismissal  bell  rings  cannot 
give  moral  training."^ 

While  Prof.  Starbuck  has  this  to  say: 

"Thus  it  is  that  every  thing  that  is  going  on  in  the  life  of  a  teacher, 
which  finds  its  expression  in  the  quality  of  her  personality  is  filtering  and 
seeping  into  the  lives  of  her  pupils.  She  can  in  reality  hide  nothing. 
Whatever  she  is  in  the  depths  of  her  life  is  forming  a  part  of  the  atmos- 
phere of  the  school,  and  this  atmosphere  is  in  turn  forming  unconsciously 
the  lives  of  her  pupils,  in  the  same  way  that  the  air,  sunshine,  moisture  and 
elements  of  the  soil  are  feeding  the  life  of  the  plant. 

"Thus  it  is  becoming  to  be  demonstrably  true  that  out  of  the  heart  are 
the    issues    of    life.        There    is    nothing    more    pervasive    than    character. 


aH.  C.  King,  Religion  as  Life,  p.  62. 

*Frank  Cramer,  Moral  Training  in  Public  Schools,  p.  161. 


724  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

Morality  is  as  catching  as  wild  fire;  it  is  as  contagious  as  disease,  or  as  sin. 
We  know  all  this,  after  a  fashion,  but  shall  not  have  appreciated  it  at  its 
full  worth  until  the  best,  maturest,  and  largest  spirited  men  and  women  are 
secured  and  retained  in  the  teaching  profession. 

"It  is  impossible  for  a  teacher  to  teach  what  she  hasn't  got  down  deep 
within  her  heart.  It  is  as  impossible  for  her  to  have  a  devout  nature  and 
keep  it  hidden  beneath  the  routine  of  the  school  day  as  it  is  to  pollute  a 
spring  of  pure  water,  or  quench  a  fire  by  throwing  fagots  upon  it."<; 

We  must  constantly  be  conscious,  fellow  teachers,  that  by 
the  appointment  of  our  calling  we  are  put  in  the  company  of 
sages,  prophets,  and  seers — we  become  comrades  of  the  world's 
great  ones,  the  teachers  and  leaders,  with  Jesus  as  the  Captain 
of  the  host. 

XI — Our  High  Callings 

Both  as  parents  and  teachers  we  must  keep  ourselves  so  pure 
in  heart  that  we  may  have  true  visions  of  God  and  his  glory. 
This  will  enable  us  to  see  in  each  child  that  he  is  the  offspring 
of  God;  thus,  seeing  the  streaks  of  divine  gold  in  his  nature  in 
the  midst  of  the  common  dust  of  human  weakness,  we  will  be 
able  to  appeal  to  the  good,  thereby  winning  him  to  the  best. 
We  must  feel  deeply  the  Savior's  estimate  of  the  worth  of  the 
child.     He  sets  each  child  above  the  whole  material  world. 

Let  us  gird  ourselves  for  the  crises  through  which  we  are 
passing.  And  though  the  fight  be  a  hard  one,  even  a  fight  to  the 
death,  let  us  rejoice  in  our  opportunities  to  help  redeem  the 
world.     We  must  feel  deeply  the  poet's  conviction  when  he  said : 

"We  are  living,  we  are  dwelling 

In  a  grand  and  awful  time; 
In  an  age  on  ages  telling; 

To  be  living  is  sublime." 

Let  us  realize  "that  the  worth  of  a  man  is  determined  by  what  comes 
out  of  him.  by  the  service  he  renders,  rather  than  by  what  enters  in.  *  * 
*****  There  are  those  who  conceive  that  culture — if  it  is  more 
than  veneer — is  a  refinement  that  can  be  obtained  only  by  direct  participa- 
tion in  social  life.  Such  contact  with  the  world  may  bring  embarrassment, 
temptation,  and  failure,  as  well  as  their  opposites;  but  all  of  these,  instead 
of  debasing,  are  the  very  experiences  which  purify  and  make  gentle;  they 
are  the  fire  without  which  the  refining  process  could  not  take  place.  Culture 
means  to  these  people  the  ennobling  effect  of  such  actual  struggle  upon  a 
person's  whole  outlook  on  life,  and  upon  his  way  in  general  of  conducting 
himself;  and  the  cultured  man  is  pictured  by  them  as  in  action,  even  with 
his  sleeves  rolled  up,  engaged  in  the  accomplishment  of  high  purposes."** 

In  spite  of  our  poor  pay  and  uncertain  length  of  service,  and 
overwork,  let  us  feel  that  if  we  are  fit  at  all  for  our  high  calling, 

<^E.  D.  Starbuck,  Moral  Training  in  Public  Schools,  pp.  97,  98. 
rfFrank  M.  McMurry,  How  to  Study,  pp.  198-202. 


MORAL  EDUCATION  OF  THE  ADOLESCENT  725 


that  our  worth  cannot  be  measured  in  money,  one's  salaries  can- 
not be  his  reward,  if  so  he  is  not  worth  even  the  little  he  gets. 
We  are  paid  for  our  time  that  we  may  live;  not  for  our  service 
or  worth.  For  our  reward  we  must  look  among  the  spiritual  and 
eternal  blessings  of  our  calling;  and  the  reward  is  ample  and 
certain  if  the  service  be  true  and  loving. 
Henry  Suzzallo  says: 

"The  teacher  is,  in  short,  a  minister  to  the  intellectual,  moral,  and 
spiritual  crises  of  childhood."* 

"Oh,  it  is  great  to  be  a  teacher.  It  is  wonderful  to  be  a  teacher.  A 
true  teacher  can  never  grow  old.  A  true  teacher  can  never  die  except  the 
drath  be  within.  Think  what  it  means!  Your  whole  life  is  spent  with 
Youth:  aggressive,  progressive,  suggestive  Youth.  Think  what  it  means  to 
throw  your  greatness  around  their  incompleteness,  round  their  restlessness, 
your  rest!  It  is  a  divine  privilege  to  be  a  teacher!  A  perpetual  benedic- 
tion of  Youth  to  be  a  teacher!"/7 

XII — Religion  in  the  Schools 

By  wise  provision  our  country  has  ruled  that  religious  doc- 
trines cannot  be  taught  in  the  schools.  I  agree  with  this  pro- 
vision and  heartily  support  it.  Yet  we  must  recognize  that  the 
necessity  for  this  ruling  is  fraught  with  grave  danger.  Every 
attempt  in  the  world's  history  to  keep  a  people  morally  upright 
without  religious  motives  and  convictions  has  met  with  failure 
and  ruin.  Many  of  our  educators  see  this  danger.  Prof.  Hall 
says:  that  belief  in  immortality  and  in  God  during  the  latter 
period  of  youth  gives  stronger  and  better  training  to  the  will 
than  any  other  belief  or  instruction  can  do.  He  says  that  even 
if  we  should  find  that  that  belief  was  false  we  should  still  have 
to  teach  God  and  a  future  life  as  the  only  means  of  making  a 
righteous  people.  Of  course,  I  take  it  that  the  only  thing  that 
gives  this  belief  power  over  the  hearts  of  men  is  that  it  is  true. 
He  further  says  that  the  schools  to  be  successful  must  keep  the 
young  from  crime. 

Prof.  Thompson  says  this: 

"I  am  disposed  to  believe,  therefore,  and  because  I  believe  I  therefore 
declare,  that  the  nation  at  large  will  nevr  lose  its  moral  quality  until  it  loses 
its  vision  of  God.  This  vision  will  interpret  all  of  human  beauty,  and 
measure  all  bonds  of  obligation."^ 

The  above  words  were  spoken  at  one  of  the  sessions  of  our 
N.  E.  A.,  in  1914.  During  one  of  the  sessions  of  the  meeting  of 
the  superintendents  of  the  N.  E.  A.,  in  1913,  Supt.  Schaeffer,  one 


<"Henry  Suzzallo,  N.  E.  A.  Proceedings,  1913,  p.  368. 
/F.  E.  Raymond,  N.  E.  A.  Proceedings,  1913,  p.  626. 
^Thompson,  N.  E.  A.  Proceedings,  1914,  pp.  110.  111. 


726  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

of  the  great  and  venerable  educators  of  our  land,  spoke  these 
words : 

"Occasionally  I  find  a  high  school  teacher  who  delights  to  poke  fun 
at  the  religious  faith  of  his  pupils,  or  the  pupil's  parents.  A  worse  service 
no  teacher  can  render.  Destroy  faith  in  things  unseen  and  eternal  and 
you  have  robbed  the  people  of  the  strongest  support  in  the  midst  of  the 
trials  and  disappointments  and  sorrows  of  this  life.  When  you  stand  at  the 
open  grave  that  is  to  swallow  and  close  over  the  remains  of  a  departed 
child,  or  friend,  faith  and  heavenly  recognition  means  more  than  all  the 
bushels  of  corn  which  can  be  raised  in  the  Mississippi  valley. 

"There  is  a  higher  life  of  thought,  faith,  hope,  and  love,  which  can  be 
promoted  or  destroyed  by  the  teacher  and  his  teaching,  a  life  which  turns 
on  the  unmeasurable  and  the  immeasurable  in  teachers  and  teaching,  and 
which  in  the  end  must  determine  whether  failure  or  success  shall  be  written 
over  the  doors  of  our  public  schools."'1 

While  I  agree  that  no  man  should  be  allowed  to  teach  the 
tenets  of  his  own  faith  or  creed,  I  protest  against  the  partial  way 
in  which  this  ruling  is  carried  out.  While  men  of  faith,  whose 
words  are  words  of  life,  are  bridled  and  their  mouths  are  closed 
against  the  great  immortal  hopes  of  Christian  faith,  there  is  one 
creed,  the  advocates  of  which  are  permitted  free  rein  to  prate 
their  wares  in  our  schools  from  ocean  to  ocean.  These  people 
preach  their  doctrines  in  all  the  schools  from  the  kindergarten 
to  the  university  without  check  or  hindrance.  Yet  the  words 
they  teach  are  words  of  death — for  they  kill  the  "migthy  hopes 
that  make  us  men."  They  resent  the  declaration  that  their 
opinions  form  a  creed,  but  I  declare  them  to  be  the  narrowest 
of  all  the  sects,  and  the  shallowest  and  cheapest,  too.  I  take  it 
that  you  are  all  ready  to  name  this  creed  without  my  needing 
to  do  so.  I  refer  to  the  "free  thinkers,"  the  skeptics  of  the  land. 
By  freedom  to  think  they  mean  freedom  for  all  men  to  think  as 
they  do.  All  others  they  meet  with  boastful  mockery  and  rid- 
icule. Yet  to  the  young  and  thoughtless  they  appeal  with  pretty 
phrases  about  independence  and  freedom  with  a  power  that  is 
especially  dangerous  to  the  boy  of  high  school  age.  For  the 
immature  mind  fails  to  see  that  their  pretense  of  freedom  and 
independence  is  a  shallow  mockery;  that  while  they  chatter 
about  breadth  of  view  and  freedom  of  life  they  are  the  narrowest 
of  all  the  sects,  and  the  slaves  of  folly  and  doubt.  While  they 
claim  to  believe  only  that  which  may  be  demonstrated  they  are 
really  the  blindest  followers  of  the  blind;  that  while  they  sneer 
at  the  religious  man  as  a  bigot  their  very  attitude  of  boastful 
ridicule  at  the  faith  of  another  brands  them  as  the  greatest 
bigots  of  all.  Should  freedom  of  belief  mean  the  right  to  be- 
lieve little  or  much?  In  the  name  of  the  Christian  fathers  and 
mothers  of  this  glorious  land  of  America,  and  especially  of  those 


>>Supt.  Nathan  C.  Schaeffer,  N.  E.  A.  Proceedings,  pp.  171,  172. 


MORAL  EDUCATION  OF  THE  ADOLESCENT  727 

of  our  mountain  valleys  here,  I  protest  against  the  freedom  that 
these  fellows  enjoy  to  destroy  the  very  life  and  hope  of  life  of 
the  young.  If  we  close  the  mouth  of  the  man  of  faith,  I  insist 
that  we  must  gag  the  skeptic  and  the  doubter.  Whether  or  not 
the  manhood  and  womanhood  of  the  nation  shall  be  preserved 
in  purity  and  strength  depends  much  upon  our  staying  the  hand 
and  stopping  the  mouth  of  this  fellow  who  goes  about  sowing 
the  seeds  of  sin  and  death  in  our  schools.  It  is  time  that  we 
speak  out  loud  about  this  vital  matter. 

XIII — Conclusion. 

In  conclusion  I  suggest  an  affirmative  answer  to  the  follow- 
ing as  fitting  tests  for  high  school  and  college  students  before 
graduation:  "Have  you  any  visions  of  your  own?  Have  you 
moral  and  spiritual  insight  that  mean  anything  to  you?  Have 
you  God-given  convictions  wrought  into  the  very  fibre  of  your 
own  life?  Have  you  any  message  that  is  yours  and  that  you 
feel  you  must  utter?  Have  you  any  indignations  and  enthu- 
siasms that  shake  you  to  the  center  of  your  being?"  Do  you  feel 
that  you  were  sent  into  the  world,  divinely  called  to  do  your 
life's  work?  Do  you  realize  that  "great  achievement  is  possible 
only  to  him  who  goes  to  his  daily  work  feeling  that  he  is  divinely 
called  to  it?" 

Let  us  impress  each  child  with  the  fact  that  he  is  to  live  his 
own  life.  That  he  has  an  individuality  to  develop  that  is  differ- 
ent from  every  other  life  that  has  been  or  will  be  in  the  world. 
He  has  a  flavor,  a  message  to  give,  and  a  work  to  do  that  are 
peculiarly  his  own.  Make  him  feel  that  he  is  born  to  be  big, 
great  and  good.  Help  him  to  see  that  he  is  endangered  hourly 
by  the  temptation  of  the  good  as  it  calls  for  him  to  stay  in  the 
valley  below,  the  valley  of  the  good,  when  he  should  be  strug- 
gling toward  the  mountain  peaks  above — living  on  the  heights 
of  the  best. 

Let  us  face  each  day's  work  with  faith  and  love  and  courage 
that  knows  no  failure  and  admits  no  defeat.  We  must  go  to 
each  day's  work  in  whatever  little  nitch  or  corner  we  are  called 
to  labor  in  the  spirit  with  which  the  little  woman  who  had  left 
a  home  of  culture,  comfort,  and  all  that  gladdens  the  heart,  faced 
each  day  in  her  little  homestead  shanty  in  North  Dakota.  She 
had  the  heart,  in  writing  back  home  to  her  mother  and  sisters, 
to  pen  these  lines: 

"And  I  the  priestess?     Ah,  I  would 

The   gifts  and   grace  were  mine 
To  be  the  priestess  that  I  should 

In  a  house  thirteen  by  nine." 

(The  End) 


Kirtland 


Nauvoo 


St.  George 


Zion's  Temples 

A  seer,  a  prophesying  man, 
First  led  the  way  and  marked  the  plan; 
The  Kirtland  House  of  Prayer  and  Glory 
Unfolds  our  realistic  story. 

Upreared  by  zealous  workers  true, 
The  next  appears  in  fair  Nauvoo, 
A  crowning  joy  'midst  tribulation — 
Enroute  for  westward  immigration. 

Across  the  miles  of  desert  sand, 
In  southern  Utah's  Dixie-land, 
Is  temple  of  St.  George,  in  token 
Of  truthful  word  by  prophet  spoken. 

Upon  a  green,  imposing  height, 
Is  Logan  temple,  pleasing  site, 
A  joy-gift  to  each  sister,  brother, 
As  day  by  day  they  greet  each  other. 

The  Manti  temple  next  we  see, 
A  proof  of  sweet  fidelity, 
In  suitable,  inspired  location, 
For  frequent  saintly  visitation. 


Logan 


Manti 


Salt  Lake  City 


ZION'S  TEMPLES 


729 


The  patient  work  of  forty  years, 
A  granite  structure  now  appears, 
And  all  around  are  flowers  pretty 
In  temple-crowned  fair  Salt  Lake  City. 

Upon  a  snowwhite  winterland, 
The  Cardston  temple,  stately,  grand, 
Now  thrills  the  North  with  expectation — 
Shall  one  day  ask  for  dedication. 

Upon  a  balmy  summer  Isle 
Enwreathed  with  sky-blue  ocean's  smile, 
E'en  now  a  temple  sheds  its  glory 
On  fair  Hawaii's  territory. 

And  thus  in  Zion's  watches  fair, 
The  temple  spires  point  high  in  air, 
The  spires  of  hope  and  love  fulfiling 
Life's  deathless  promise  joy-instiling. 

Remembering  the  millions  who 
Have  lived  and  passed  from  mortal  view; 
To  each  of  these  a  boon  is  given, 
Bestowed  on  earth,  received  in  heaven. 

Here  chosen  soul-mates  come  to  bind 
In  holy  wedlock,  mind  to  mind; 
Exalted  to  a  joy  supernal 
In  God-made  covenant  eternal. 

0  temples  holy !    Temples  fair ! 
Your  gleaming  spires  lift  high  in  air, 
While  faith  is  true  and  hearts  are  willing, 
Life's  deathless  promises  fulfiling. 

Minnie  Iverson  Hodapp 


Canada 


Hawaii 


The  United  States  and  France 

An  Eloquent  Oration  Delivered  in  the  Senate  Chamber  of  the 
United  States  on  May  1,  1917 


By  M.  Rene  Viviani,  French  Vice-Premier,  and  Head  of  the   Visiting 

Commissioners 


Mr.  President  and  Senators: — Since  I  have  been  granted  the 
supreme  honor  of  speaking  before  the  representatives  of  the 
American  people,  may  I  ask  them  first  to  allow  me  to  thank  this 
magnificent  Capital  for  the  welcome  it  has  accorded  us?  Ac- 
customed as  we  are  in  our  own  free  land  to  popular  manifesta- 
tions, and  though  we  had  been  warned  by  your  fellow  country- 
men who  live  in  Paris  of  the  enthusiasm  burning  in  your  hearts, 
we  are  still  full  of  the  emotion  raised  by  the  sights  that  awaited 
us.  I  shall  never  cease  to  see  the  proud  and  stalwart  men  who 
saluted  our  passage;  your  women,  whose  grace  adds  fresh  beauty 
to  your  city,  their  arms  outstretched,  full  of  flowers;  and  your 
children  hurrying  to  meet  us  as  if  our  coming  were  looked  upon 
as  a  lesson  for  them,  all  with  one  accord  acclaiming  in  our  per- 
ishable persons  immortal  France.  And  I  predict  there  will  be  a 
yet  grander  manifestation  on  the  day  when  your  illustrious 
President,  relieved  from  the  burden  of  power,  will  come  among 
us  bearing  the  salute  of  the  Republic  of  the  United  States  to  a 
free  Europe,  whose  foundations  from  end  to  end  shall  be  based 
on  right.  It  is  with  unspeakable  emotion  that  we  crossed  the 
threshold  of  this  legislative  palace,  where  prudence  and  bold- 
ness meet,  and  that  I  for  the  first  time  in  the  annals  of  America, 
though  a  foreigner,  speak  in  this  Hall  which  only  a  few  days 
since  resounded  with  the  words  of  virile  force.  You  have  set  all 
the  democracies  of  the  world  the  most  magnificent  example.  So 
soon  as  the  common  peril  was  made  manifest  to  you,  with  sim- 
plicity and  within  a  few  short  days,  you  voted  a  formidable  war 
credit  and  proclaimed  that  a  formidable  army  was  to  be  raised. 
President  Wilson's  commentary  on  his  acts,  which  you  made 
vours,  remains  in  the  history  of  free  peoples  the  weightiest  of 
lessons.  Doubtless  you  were  resolved  to  avenge  the  insults  of- 
fered your  flag,  which  the  whole  world  respected;  doubtless 
through  the  thickness  of  these  massive  walls  the  mournful  cry  of 
all  the  victims  that  criminal  hands  hurled  into  the  depths  of  the 
sea  has  reached  and  stirred  your  souls,  but  it  will  be  your  honor 
in  history  that  you  also  heard  the  cry  of  humanity  and  invoked 
against  autocracy  the  rights  of  democracies.     And  I  can  only 


THE  UNITED  STATES  AND  FRANCE  731 

wonder  as  I  speak  what,  if  they  still  have  any  power  to  think, 
are  the  thoughts  of  the  autocrats  who  three  years  ago  against  us, 
three  months  ago  against  you,  unchained  this  conflict. 

Ah !  doubtless  they  said  among  themselves  that  a  democracy 
is  an  ideal  government,  that  it  showers  reforms  on  mankind, 
that  it  can  in  the  domain  of  labor  quicken  all  economic  activi- 
ties. And  yet  now  we  see  the  French  Republic  fighting  in  de- 
fense of  its  territory  and  the  liberty  of  nations  and  opposing  to 
the  avalanche  let  loose  by  Prussian  militarism  the  union  of  all 
its  children  who  are  still  capable  of  striking  many  a  weighty 
blow.  And  now  we  see  England,  far  removed  like  you  from 
conscription,  who  has  also,  by  virtue  of  a  discipline  all  accept, 
raised  from  her  soil  millions  of  fighting  men.  And  we  see  other 
nations  accomplishing  the  same  act;  and  that  liberty  not  only 
inflames  all  hearts  but  co-ordinates  and  brings  into  being  all 
needed  efforts.  And  now  we  see  all  America  rise  and  sharpen 
her  weapons  in  the  midst  of  peace  for  the  common  struggle.  To- 
gether we  will  carry  on  that  struggle,  and  when  by  force  we  have 
at  last  imposed  military  victory,  our  labors  will  not  be  con- 
cluded. Our  task  will  be,  I  quote  the  noble  words  of  President 
Wilson,  to  organize  the  society  of  nations.  I  well  know  that  our 
enemies,  who  have  never  seen  before  them  anything  but  hori- 
zons of  carnage,  will  never  cease  to  jeer  at  so  noble  a  design. 
Such  has  always  been  the  fate  of  great  ideas  at  their  birth;  and 
if  thinkers  and  men  of  action  had  allowed  themselves  to  be  dis- 
couraged by  skeptics  mankind  would  still  be  in  its  infancv,  and 
we  should  still  be  slaves.  After  material  victory  we  will  win  this 
moral  victorv.  We  will  shatter  the  ponderous  sword  of  mili- 
tarism; we  will  establish  guaranties  for  peace:  and  then  we  can 
disappear  from  the  world's  stace,  since  we  shall  leave  at  the  cost 
of  our  common  immolation  the  noblest  heritage  future  genera- 
tions can  possess. 

Light,  Life,  Love 

The  voice  of  Omnipotence  called  into  night, 

And  back  came  the  echo,  "Let  there  be  Light;" 

Then  the  sun  and  the  moon  and  the  starts  lent  their  rays, 

And  radiant  Earth  appeared  in  the  blaze. 

Again  called  the  Voice,  and  the  elements  rife 
Sent  back  the  echo,  "Let  there  be  Life;" 
Then  the  air  and  the  sea  and  the  germ-waiting  earth 
Teemed  with  the  fruitage  of  primitive  birth. 

A  Voice  low  and  tender  went  out  from  above, 
And  sweet  rolled  the  echo,  "Let  there  be  Love;" 
Then  thought  and  emotion  joyously  sped 
To  the  altar  where  Justice  and  Mercy  were  wed. 

George  H.  Brimhall. 


An  Appeal  for  Service 

A  Proclamation  to  the  People  of  the  United   States   Issued   April   15,  1917 


By  President  Woodrow  Wilson 


My  Fellow  Countrymen: — The  entrance  of  our  own  beloved  country 
into  the  grim  and  terrible  war  for  democracy  and  human  rights  which  has 
shaken  the  world  creates  so  many  problems  of  national  life  and  action 
which  call  for  immediate  consideration  and  settlement  that  I  hope  you  will 
permit  me  to  address  to  you  a  few  words  of  earnest  counsel  and  appeal 
with  regard  to  them. 

We  are  rapidly  putting  our  navy  upon  an  effective  war  footing,  and 
are  about  to  create  and  equip  a  great  army,  but  these  are  the  simplest 
parts  of  the  great  task  to  which  we  have  addressed  ourselves.  There  is  not 
a  single  selfish  element,  so  far  as  I  can  see,  in  the  cause  we  are  fighting 
for.  We  are  fighting  for  what  we  believe  and  wish  to  be  the  rights  of  man- 
kind and  for  the  future  peace  and  security  of  the  world.  To  do  this  great 
thing  worthily  and  successfully  we  must  devote  ourselves  to  the  service 
without  regard  to  profit  or  material  advantage  and  with  an  energy  and  intel- 
ligence that  will  rise  to  the  level  of  the  enterprise  itself.  We  must  realize 
to  the  full  how  great  the  task  is  and  how  many  things,  how  many  kinds  and 
elements  of  capacity  and  service  and  self-sacrifice  it  involves. 

These,  then,  are  the  things  we  must  do  and  do  well,  besides  fighting — 
the  things  without  which  mere  fighting  wfuld  be  fruitless. 

We  must  supply  abundant  food  for  ourselves  and  for  our  armies  and 
our  seamen,  not  only,  but  also,  for  a  large  part  of  the  nations  with  whom 
we  have  now  made  common  cause,  in  whose  support  and  by  whose  sides  we 
shall  be  fighting. 

We  must  supply  ships  by  the  hundreds  out  of  our  shipyards  to  carry 
to  the  other  side  of  the  sea,  submarines  or  no  submarines,  what  will  every 
day  be  needed  there  and  abundant  materials  out  of  our  fields  and  our 
mines  and  our  factories  with  which  not  only  to  clothe  and  equip  our  own 
forces  on  land  and  sea,  but  also  to  clothe  and  support  our  people  for 
whom  the  gallant  fellows  under  arms  can  no  longer  work;  to  help  to  clothe 
and  equip  the  armies  with  which  we  are  co-operating  in  Europe  and  to  keep 
the  looms  and  manufactories  there  in  raw  materials:  coal  to  keep  the  fires 
going  in  ships  at  sea  and  in  the  furnaces  of  hundreds  of  factories  across 
the  sea:  steel  out  of  which  to  make  arms  and  ammunition  both  here  and 
there:  rails  for  worn  out  railways  back  of  the  fighting  fronts:  locomotives 
and  rolling  stock  to  take  the  place  of  those  every  day  going  to  pieces: 
mules,  horses,  cattle  for  labor  and  for  military  service:  everything  with 
which  the  people  of  England  and  France  and  Italy  and  Russia  have  usu- 
ally supplied  themselves,  but  cannot  now  afford  the  men,  the  materials  or 
the  machinery  to  make. 

It  is  evident  to  every  thinking  man  that  our  industries,  on  the  farms, 
in  the  shipyards,  in  the  mines,  in  the  factories,  must  be  made  more  pro- 
lific and  more  efficient  than  ever,  and  that  they  must  be  more  economically 
managed  and  better  adapted  to  the  particular  requirements  of  our  task 
than  they  have  been ;  and  what  I  want  to  say  is  that  the  men  and  the  women 
who  devote  their  thought  and  their  energy  to  these  things  will  be  serving 
the  country  and  conducting  the  fight  for  peace  and  freedom  just  as  truly 


AN  APPEAL  FOR  SERVICE  733 

and  just  as  effectively  as  the  men  on  the  battlefield  or  in  the  trenches.  The 
industrial  forces  of  the  country,  men  and  women  alike,  will  be  a  great 
national,  a  great  international  service  army— a  notable  and  honored  host 
engaged  in  the  service  of  the  nation  and  the  world,  the  efficient  friends  and 
saviors  of  free  men  everywhere.  Thousands,  nay,  hundreds  of  thousands,  of 
men  otherwise  liable  to  military  service  will  of  right  and  of  necessity  be 
excused  from  that  service  and  assigned  to  the  fundamental,  sustaining 
work  of  the  fields  and  factories,  and  mines,  and  they  will  be  as  much  part 
of  the  great  patriotic  forces  of  the  nation  as  the  men  under  fire. 

I  take  the  liberty,  therefore,  of  addressing  this  word  to  the  farmers  of 
the  country  and  to  all  who  work  on  the  farms:  The  supreme  need  of  our 
own  nation  and  of  the  nations  with  which  we  are  co-operating  is  an 
abundance  of  supplies,  and  especially  of  foodstuffs.  The  importance  of  an 
adequate  food  supply,  especially  for  the  present  year,  is  superlative.  With- 
out abundant  food,  alike  for  the  armies  and  the  peoples  now  at  war,  the 
whole  great  enterprise  upon  which  we  have  embarked  will  break  down 
and  fail.  The  world's  food  reserves  are  low.  Not  only  during  the  present 
emergency,  but  for  some  time  after  peace  shall  have  come,  both  our  own 
people  and  a  large  proportion  of  the  people  of  Europe  must  rely  upon 
the    harvests    in    America. 

Upon  the  farmers  of  this  country,  therefore,  in  large  measure  rests 
the  fate  of  the  war  and  the  fate  of  the  na.ions.  May  the  nation  not  count 
upon  them  to  omit  no  step  that  will  increase  the  production  of  their  land 
or  that  will  bring  about  the  most  effectual  co-operation  in  the  sale  and  dis- 
tribution of  their  products?  The  time  is  short.  It  is  of  the  most  imperative 
importance  that  everything  possible  be  done,  and  done  immediately,  to 
make  sure  of  large  harvests.  I  call  upon  young  men  and  old  alike  and  upon 
the  ablebodied  boys  of  the  land  to  accept  and  act  upon  this  duty — to  turn 
in  hosts  to  the  farms  and  make  certain  that  no  pains  and  no  labor  is  lacking 
in  this  great  matter. 

I  particularly  appeal  to  the  farmers  of  the  South  to  plant  abundant  food- 
stuffs, as  well  as  cotton.  They  can  show  their  patriotism  in  no  better  or 
more  convincing  way  than  by  resisting  the  great  temptation  of  the  present 
price  of  cotton  and  helping,  helping  upon  a  great  scale,  to  feed  the  nation 
and  the  peoples  everywhere  who  are  fighting  for  their  liberties  and  for  our 
own.  The  variety  of  their  crops  will  be  the  visible  measure  of  their  com- 
prehension of  their  national  duty. 

The  Government  of  the  United  States  and  the  governments  of  the  sev- 
eral states  stand  ready  to  co-operate.  They  will  do  everything  posisble  to 
assist  farmers  in  securing  an  adequate  supply  of  seed,  an  adequate  force  of 
laborers  when  they  are  most  needed,  at  harvest  time,  and  the  means  of  expe- 
diting shipments  of  fertilizers  and  farm  machinery,  as  well  as  of  the  crops 
themselves  when  harvested.  The  course  of  trade  shall  be  as  unhampered  as 
it  is  possible  to  make  it,  and  there  shall  be  no  unwarranted  manipulation 
of  the  nation's  food  supply  by  those  who  handle  it  on  its  way  to  the  con- 
sumer. This  is  our  opportunity  to  demonstrate  the  efficiency  of  a  great 
democracy,  and  we  shall  not  fall  short  of  it! 

This  let  me  say  to  the  middlemen  of  every  sort,  whether  they  are  hand- 
ling our  foodstuffs  or  our  raw  materials  of  manufacture  or  the  products  of 
our  mills  and  factories:  The  eyes  of  the  country  will  be  especially  upon 
you.  This  is  your  opportunity  for  signal  service,  efficient  and  disinterested. 
The  country  expects  you,  as  it  expects  all  others,  to  forego  unusual  profits, 
to  organize  and  expedite  shipments  of  supplies  of  every  kind,  but  especially 
of  food,  with  an  eye  to  the  service  you  are  rendering  and  in  the  spirit  of 
those  who  enlist  in  the  ranks,  for  their  people,  not  for  themselves.  I  shall 
confidently  expect  you  to  deserve  and  win  the  confidence  of  people  of  every 
sort  and  station. 

"'o  the  men  who  run  the  railways  of  the  country,  whether  they  be  man- 


73  t  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

agers  or  operative  employees,  let  me  say  that  the  railways  are  the  arteries  of 
the  nation's  life  and  that  upon  them  rests  the  immense  responsibility  of  see- 
ing to  it  that  those  arteries  suffer  no  obstruction  of  any  kind,  no  inefficiency 
or  slackened  power.  To  the  merchant  let  me  suggest  the  motto,  "Small 
profits  and  quick  service,"  and  to  the  shipbuilder  the  thought  that  the  life 
of  the  war  depends  upon  him.  The  food  and  the  war  supplies  must  be 
carried  across  the  seas,  no  matter  how  many  ships  are  sent  to  the  bottom. 
The  places  of  those  that  go  down  must  be  supplied,  and  supplied  at  once. 
To  the  miner  let  me  say  that  he  stands  where  the  farmer  does:  the  work 
of  the  world  waits  on  him.  If  he  slackens  or  fails,  armies  and  statesmen  are 
helpless.  He  also  is  enlisted  in  the  great  Service  Army.  The  manufacturer 
does  not  need  to  be  told,  I  hope,  that  the  nation  looks  to  him  to  speed  and 
perfect  every  process;  and  I  want  only  to  remind  his  employees  that  their 
service  is  absolutely  indispensable  and  is  counted  on  by  every  man  who 
loves  the  country  and  its  liberties. 

Let  me  suggest,  also,  that  every  one  who  creates  or  cultivates  a  garden 
helps,  and  helps  greatly,  to  solve  the  problem  of  the  feeding  of  the  nations; 
and  that  every  housewife  who  practices  strict  economy  puts  herself  in  the 
ranks  of  those  who  serve  the  nation.  This  is  the  time  for  America  to  cor- 
rect her  unpardonable  fault  of  wastefulness  and  extravagance.  Let  every 
man  and  every  woman  assume  the  duty  of  careful,  provident  use  and  ex- 
penditure as  a  public  duty,  as  a  dictate  of  patriotism  which  no  one  can  now 
expect  ever  to  be  excused  or  forgiven  for  ignoring. 

The  supreme  test  of  the  nation  has  come.  "We  must  all  speak,  act,  and 
serve  together! 


Our  Mr.  President 


I  ain't  never  seen  ner  heard  ye,  Mister  Wilson,  President, 

But  I've  read  ye,  an'  I'm  follerin',  fer  I  like  yer  sentiment. 

An'  I  don't  mean  jes'  one,  but  all,  an'  I  back  all  ye've  said, 

Fer  ye  write  as  good  American  as  ever  I  have  read. 

Yer  language  runs  so  deep  an'  clear,  an'  rings  golden  like  an'  true. 

It  ain't  a  speakin'  politics,  it's  jest  a  speakin'  you. 

It  breathes  kindliness  fer  human  kind,  it's  strong  an'  brave  an'  free; 
It^s  humble,  sweet  an'  noble,  an'  speaks  pure  Christianity. 
It's  the  language  of  the  Bible,  in  its  lofty  statesmanship ; 
It's  the  language  of  heart-service,  not  the  service  of  the  lip. 
An'  fer  statin'  what  the  Nation  feels,  ye  ain't  excelled  by  none; 
Why,  ye  rank  with  noble  Lincoln,  or  inspired  Washington. 

An|  out  here  in  these  Western  vales  there's  thousands  lifts  their  eyes 
An    sends  wingin'  through  the  silence    a  message  to  the  skies, 
That  God  will  keep  the  pilot  safe,  to  guide  our  heav'n-built  bark, 
lhat  like  he's  steered  it  in  the  light,  so  help  him  in  the  dark. 
An   when  sweet  morn,  an'  light  an'  peace,  suffuse  the  earth  again, 
Keep  yet  our  pilot  safe  to  serve,  we  pray  Thee,  Lord,  Amen. 

Brigham  S.  Young. 


On  the  Pioneer  Trail  We're  Marching 

Written  for  the  Y.  M.  M.  I.  A.  Junior  Eoys. 

Evan  Stephens. 


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3.  On  the   Pi-o-neer   Trail  we're  marching,Knowing   every  step   is 

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IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


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Correction: — In  the  song  "Beloved,"  published  in  the  April  Era,  two 
errois  occur.  In  the  sixth  measure  the  last  note  of  the  second  tenor  should 
be  F,  and  the  lower  bass  for  the  same  chor '  in  the  same  measure  should 
be  B  flat. 


Unchastity  the  Dominant  Evil  of  the  Age 


By  President  Joseph  F.  Smith 


[Written  for  and  at  request  of  the  Newspaper  Enterprise  Association, 
San  Francisco,  Cal.] 

The  character  of  a  community  or  a  nation  is  the  sum  of  the 
individual  qualities  of  its  component  members.  To  say  so  is  to 
voice  at  once  an  ordinary  platitude  and  an  axiom  of  profound 
import.  The  stability  of  a  material  structure  depends  upon  the 
integrity  of  its  several  parts  and  the  maintenance  of  a  proper 
correlation  of  the  units  in  harmony  with  the  laws  of  forces.  The 
same  may  be  said  of  institutions,  systems,  and  organizations  in 
general. 

Some  of  the  gravest  mistakes  of  men,  in  administrative  af- 
fairs, in  politics,  in  statesmanship,  are  the  consequence  of  mis- 
directed efforts  to  strengthen  the  fabric  as  a  whole  instead  of 
applying  remedial  measures  to  the  defective  parts,  or  correcting 
the  discordant  relationship.  When  citizens  can  be  taught  to  live 
right  lives,  the  grandeur  and  perpetuity  of  the  nation  will  be 
assured. 

The  voice  of  the  pessimistic  agitator  is  heard  in  the  land  to- 
day. He  is  loud  in  denunciation  of  existing  systems  and  vigor- 
ous in  demand  for  new  laws  and  governmental  reforms.  Pro- 
gressive legislation  is  undoubtedly  necessary,  and  abuse  of 
power,  neglect  of  duty,  or  other  evils  in  national  or  local  admin- 
istration, should  be  promptly  corrected;  but  the  crying  need  of 
mankind  is  individual  reformation.  The  thorough  purification 
and  effective  regulation  of  society  as  a  system  through  repressive 
legislation  is  a  stupendous  and  well-nigh  hopeless  undertaking. 
The  natural  and  rational  plan  of  improvement  must  deal  largely 
with  the  education  of  the  society  unit,  the  individual  citizen. 
Regulatory  and  prohibitory  laws  cannot  consistently  be  re- 
garded as  other  than  necessities  in  the  present  state  of  human 
affairs,  but  let  us  hope  that  these  enactments  shall  become  as 
dead  letters  in  the  advancement  of  the  community  through  in- 
dividual improvement. 

What  has  come  to  be  known  in  present  day  literature  as 
the  social  evil  is  a  subject  of  perennial  discussion,  and  the  means 
proposed  for  dealing  with  it  are  topics  of  contention  and  debate. 


EDITORS'  TABLE  739 

That  the  public  conscience  is  aroused  to  the  seriousness  of  the 
dire  condition  due  to  sexual  immorality  is  a  promising  indica- 
tion of  prospective  betterment.  No  more  loathsome  cancer  dis- 
figures the  body  and  soul  of  society  today  than  the  frightful 
affliction  of  sexual  sin.  It  vitiates  the  very  fountains  of  life,  and 
bequeaths  its  foul  effects  to  the  yet  unborn  as  a  legacy  of  death. 
It  lurks  in  hamlet  and  city,  in  the  mansion  and  in  the  hovel  as 
a  ravening  beast  in  wait  for  prey ;  and  it  skulks  through  the  land 
in  blasphemous  defiance  of  the  laws  of  God  and  man. 

The  lawful  association  of  the  sexes  is  ordained  of  God,  not 
only  as  the  sole  means  of  race  perpetuation,  but  for  the  devel- 
opment of  the  higher  faculties  and  nobler  traits  of  human  na- 
ture, which  the  love-inspired  companionship  of  man  and  woman 
alone  can  insure.  The  word  of  Scripture  is  explicit  as  to  the 
Divine  intent  and  command  with  respect  to  the  sexes.  It  is  not 
good  for  man  to  be  alone;  and  therefore  hath  it  been  ordained 
that  "a  man  leave  his  father  and  his  mother  and  shall  cleave 
unto  his  wife;  and  they  shall  be  one  flesh"  (Genesis  2:18,24). 
Of  the  first  parents  of  the  race  we  read:  "And  God  blessed 
them,  and  God  said  unto  them,  Be  fruitful,  and  multiply,  and 
replenish  the  earth"  (Genesis  1:28). 

The  precept  that  marriage  is  honorable  is  as  true  today  as 
when  uttered  by  the  Apostle  of  old  (see  Hebrews  13:4);  and 
who  shall  deny  that  the  married  state  is  essential  to  the  attain- 
ment of  even  relative  perfection  in  fulfilling  the  measure  and 
purpose  of  man's  mortal  existence?  "Neither  is  the  man  without 
the  woman,  neither  the  woman  without  the  man,  in  the  Lord" 
(1  Corinthians  11:11). 

Not  alone  is  it  fundamentally  proper  and  in  strict  accord 
with  both  the  spirit  and  the  letter  of  the  Divine  Word,  but  ab- 
solutely essential  to  the  stability  of  the  social  order  that  the 
marriage  relation  shall  be  defined  and  regulated  by  secular  law. 
Parties  to  the  marriage  contract  must  be  definitely  invested  with 
the  responsibilities  of  the  status  they  assume;  and  for  fidelity  to 
their  obligations  they  are  answerable  to  each  other,  to  society, 
and  to  their  God. 

Sexual  union  is  lawful  in  wedlock,  and,  if  participated  in 
with  right  intent  is  honorable  and  sanctifying.  But  ivithout  the 
bonds  of  marriage,  sexual  indulgence  is  a  debasing  sin,  abom- 
inable in  the  sight  of  Deity. 

Infidelity  to  marriage  vows  is  a  fruitful  source  of  divorce, 
with  its  long  train  of  attendant  evils,  not  the  least  of  which  are 
the  shame  and  dishonor  inflicted  on  unfortunate  though  inno- 
cent children.  The  dreadful  effects  of  adultery  cannot  be  con- 
fined to  the  erring  participants.  Whether  openly  known  or 
partly  concealed  under  the  cloak  of  guilty  secrecy,  the  results 
are  potent  in  evil  influence.     The  immortal  spirits  that  come  to 


740  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

earth  to  tabernacle  in  bodies  of  flesh  have  the  right  to  be  well 
born,  through  parents  who  are  free  from  the  contamination  of 
sexual  vice. 

It  is  a  deplorable  fact  that  society  persists  in  holding  woman 
to  stricter  account  than  man  in  the  matter  of  sexual  offense. 
What  shadow  of  excuse,  not  to  speak  of  justification,  can  be 
found  for  this  outrageous  and  cowardly  discrimination?  Can 
moral  defilement  be  any  the  less  filthy  and  pestilential  in  man 
than  in  woman?  Is  a  male  leper  less  to  be  shunned  for  fear  of 
contagion  than  a  woman  similarly  stricken? 

O  the  baseness,  the  injustice,  the  dishonor  of  it  all!  Hap- 
pily the  early  promulgators  of  this  shameful  conception  of  a 
double  standard  of  morals  for  the  sexes  are  hidden  in  the  ob- 
livion of  the  past.  Let  the  infamy  in  which  they  should  rightly 
share  be  borne  by  those  who  countenance  the  current  accept- 
ance of  so  vicious  a  distinction.  Visualize  the  spectacle.  Man, 
who  is  by  nature  the  protector  and  defender  of  woman,  ready  to 
stone  to  social  death  the  adulteress,  in  whose  sin  he  was  partner. 

True,  there  is  nothing  distinctively  modern  in  this  revolting 
distortion  of  propriety  and  justice.  It  will  be  remembered  that 
certain  self-righteous  Scribes  and  Pharisees  came  clamoring  to 
the  Christ  in  the  Temple  courts,  dragging  with  them  a  woman, 
of  whom  they  said,  "Master,  this  woman  was  taken  in  adultery, 
in  the  very  act;"  and  they  asked  what  punishment  should  be 
meted  out  to  her.  What  of  the  man  in  the  case?  He  may  have 
been  present,  but  whether  eo  or  not  we  have  no  record  that 
judgment  upon  him  was  either  asked  or  implied.  However,  in- 
justice is  of  no  less  hideous  mien  because,  as  we  sometimes  say 
in  stultifying  inconsistency,  it  is  time-honored. 

So  far  as  woman  sins  it  is  inevitable  that  she  shall  suffer, 
for  retribution  is  sure,  whether  it  be  immediate  or  deferred. 
But  in  so  far  as  man's  injustice  inflicts  upon  her  the  consequence 
of  his  offenses,  he  stands  convicted  of  multiple  guilt.  And  man 
is  largely  responsible  for  the  sins  against  decency  and  virtue,  the 
burden  of  which  is  too  often  fastened  upon  the  weaker  partici- 
pant in  the  crime.  The  frightful  prevalence  of  prostitution,  and 
the  tolerance  and  even  condonation  with  which  the  foul  traffic 
is  treated  by  so-called  civilized  society,  are  black  blots  on  the 
pages  of  current  history. 

It  would  be  manifestly  unjust  to  sweepingly  condemn  every 
fallen  woman  as  of  emial  culpability  with  the  rest  of  her  de- 
graded class.  The  published  results  of  investigation  by  official 
inquirers  and  volunteers  in  this  miry  field  of  research  indicate 
that  many  a  woman  who  offers  her  body  for  hire  entered  into 
this  dreadful  commerce  when  she  found  herself  despoiled  and 
betrayed  through  undue  confidence  in  man;  and  while  her  de- 
spairing and  desperate  condition  must  be  considered  as  an  ele- 


EDITORS'  TABLE  741 

ment  of  cause  if  not  of  mitigation,  she  is  nevertheless  a  criminal 
under  the  secular  law  and  a  grievous  offender  against  the  man- 
date of  the  Almighty.  In  the  day  of  righteous  judgment,  before 
the  bar  of  the  Great  Judge  who  shall  read  the  mind  and  inter- 
pret the  heart,  every  circumstance  will  be  taken  into  just  ac- 
count, in  her  case  as  in  that  of  him  or  them  who  have  contrib- 
uted to  her  degradation.  Others  there  are,  as  the  reports  attest, 
who  aver  that  they  live  their  lives  of  shame  by  choice,  prefer- 
ring the  comparative  ease  and  the  unnatural  excitement  of  their 
abandoned  mode  of  existence  to  the  exactions  of  honest  in- 
dustry. 

Horrifying  as  the  condition  is,  it  is  nevertheless  a  black 
reality,  that  hordes  of  women  prostitute  their  bodies  and  souls 
for  money,  and  find  no  lack  of  eager  buyers.  Who  is  the  more 
depraved — the  vendor  or  the  purchaser  of  woman's  honor?  In 
many  cases  a  power  of  discernment  and  analysis  superior  to 
human  attainment  is  essential  to  a  just  verdict,  but  it  appears 
certain  that  whatever  of  palliation  through  stress  of  circum- 
stance may  be  found  for  the  woman,  guilty  lust  is  too  gener- 
ally the  primal  motive  of  the  man.  If  the  passions  of  men  were 
kept  in  natural  and  wholesome  restraint,  female  virtue  would 
cease  to  be  a  purchasable  commodity  in  the  unholy  marts  of 
society. 

The  low  esteem  in  which  strict  sexual  morality  is  currently 
held  is  an  element  of  positive  danger  to  the  nation  as  a  human 
institution,  to  say  nothing  of  the  wholesale  debauching  of  souls 
as  an  offense  against  Divine  decree.  With  such  awful  examples 
as  history  furnishes,  it  is  a  matter  of  astonishment  that  govern- 
ments should  be  so  nearly  oblivious  to  the  disintegrating  forces 
springing  from  violations  of  the  moral  law  amongst  their  citi- 
zenry. For,  as  already  stated,  while  the  education  of  the  indi- 
vidual is  the  basal  condition  of  community  improvement,  reg- 
ulatory laws  will  be  necessary  as  long  as  crime  flourishes. 

The  grandeur  of  ancient  Greece,  the  majesty  of  Rome, 
once  the  proud  rulers  of  the  world,  have  disappeared;  and  the 
verdict  of  history  specifies  the  prevalence  of  sexual  immorality 
as  among  the  chief  of  the  destructive  agencies  by  which  the  fall 
of  those  mighty  peoples  was  effected.  The  literature  of  the  re- 
ligious body  I  represent  records  an  instance  of  even  more  strik- 
ing import,  for  it  comprises  the  physical  destruction  and  com- 
plete extinction  of  a  once  powerful  nation,  and  the  utter  debase- 
ment of  another.  According  to  Book  of  Mormon  history  the 
American  continent  was  once  inhabited  by  two  peoples  known 
respectivelv  as  Nephites  and  Lamanites.  The  former  were  pro- 
gressive throughout  a  great  part  of  their  career;  they  built  cities 
and  cultivated  the  arts  of  civilization;  and  as  long  as  they  lived 
in  righteousness  thev  prospered.     The  Lamanites  were  of  no- 


742  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

madic  habits,  and,  except  for  brief  intervals  of  comparative 
peace,  were  in  a  state  of  aggressive  enmity  against  their  Nephite 
contemporaries.  The  most  blessed  period  of  ancient  American 
history  was  that  of  the  first  two  centuries  of  the  Christian  era, 
during  which  the  people  lived  in  purity  and  virtue.  Of  that 
time  we  read:  "And  it  came  to  pass  that  there  was  no  conten- 
tion in  the  land,  because  of  the  love  of  God  which  did  dwell  in 
the  hearts  of  the  people.  And  there  were  no  envyings,  nor 
strifes,  nor  tumults,  nor  whoredoms,  nor  lyings,  nor  murders, 
nor  any  manner  of  lasciviousness;  and  surely  there  could  not 
be  a  happier  people  among  all  the  people  who  had  been  created 
by  the  hand  of  God"  (4  Nephi  15,  16). 

But  this  virtuous  and  happy  state  was  followed  by  an  era  of 
abominable  excesses;  and  prominent  among  the  sins  that  led  to 
the  death  of  the  nation  was  that  of  sexual  impurity  and  general 
lasciviousness.  As  the  prophets  had  predicted,  the  Nephites 
degenerated,  and  by  Divine  sufferance  their  enemies  destroyed 
them  as  a  nation.  And  the  Lamanites,  though  victors  in  the 
struggle,  have  fallen  to  the  present  degraded  status  of  the  Amer- 
ican Indian.  Archaeologists  tell  us  that  the  human  bones  taken 
from  Indian  mounds  of  this  country  bear  unmistakable  testi- 
mony to  the  prevalence  of  syphylitic  and  allied  diseases  among 
the  ancient  Americans. 

Is  our  modern  nation  to  bring  upon  itself  the  doom  of  de- 
structive depravity?  The  forces  of  disintegration  are  at  work 
throughout  the  land,  and  they  operate  as  insidiously  as  does  the 
virus  of  deadly  contagion.  A  nation-wide  awakening  to  the  need 
of  personal  sanitation  and  of  rigorous  reform  in  the  matter  of 
^  ual  morality  is  demanded  by  the  exigencies  of  the  times.  As 
in  combating  physical  maladies,  so  in  the  treatment  of  moral 
contagion,  the  individual  should  be  rendered  immune,  so  far  as 
possible,  by  instruction  in  hygienic  living,  and  by  inoculation 
witli  the  spirit  of  righteousness;  and,  coincidently,  every  possi- 
ble effort  is  required  to  check  the  spread  of  the  plague  by  com- 
munity sanitation.  The  current  and  common  custom  of  inde- 
cency in  dress,  the  flood  of  immoral  fiction  in  printed  literature, 
in  the  drama,  and  notably  in  moving  picture  exhibitions,  the  tol- 
eration of  immodesty  in  everyday  conversation  and  demeanor, 
are  doing  deadlv  work  in  the  fostering  of  soul-destroying  vice. 

Like  many  bodily  diseases,  sexual  crime  drags  with  itself  a 
train  of  other  ills.  As  the  physical  effects  of  drunkenness  entail 
the  deterioration  of  tissue,  and  disturbance  of  vital  functions, 
and  so  render  the  body  receptive  to  any  distemper  to  which  it 
mav  be  exposed,  and  at  the  same  time  lower  the  powers  of  re- 
sistance even  to  fatal  deficiency,  so  does  unchastity  expose  the 
soul  to  divers  spiritual  maladies,  and  rob  it  of  both  resistance 
and  recuperative  ability.     The  adulterous  generation  of  Christ's 


EDITORS'  TABLE  743 

day  were  deaf  to  the  voice  of  truth,  and  through  their  diseased 
state  of  mind  and  heart,  sought  after  signs  and  preferred  empty 
fable  to  the  message  of  salvation. 

The  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  is  the  Divinely  ordained  panacea 
for  the  ills  that  afflict  humanity,  and  preeminently  so  for  the 
dread  affliction  of  sexual  sin.  Note  the  teachings  of  the  Master 
while  He  ministered  among  men  in  the  flesh — they  were  pri- 
marily directed  to  individual  probity  and  rectitude  of  life.  The 
letter  of  the  Mosaic  law  was  superseded  by  the  spirit  of  personal 
devotion  to  the  right.  "Ye  have  heard,"  said  He,  "that  it  was 
said  by  them  of  old  time,  Thou  shalt  not  commit  adultery:  But 
I  say  unto  you,  That  whosoever  looketh  on  a  woman  to  lust  after 
her,  hath  committed  adultery  with  her  already  in  his  heart" 
(Matt.  5:27,28).  The  sin  itself  may  spring  from  the  sensual 
thought,  the  lustful  glance;  just  as  murder  is  often  the  fruitage 
of  hatred  or  covetousness. 

We  accept  without  reservation  or  qualification  the  affirma- 
tion of  Deity  through  an  ancient  Nephite  prophet:  "For  J, 
the  Lord  God,  delight  in  the  chastity  of  women.  And  whore- 
doms are  an  abomination  before  me;  thus  saith  the  Lord  of 
Hosts." 

We  hold  that  sexual  sin  is  second  only  to  the  shedding  of 
innocent  blood  in  the  categorv  of  personal  crimes;  and  that  the 
adulterer  shall  have  no  part  in  the  exaltation  of  the  blessed. 

We  proclaim  as  the  word  of  the  Lord : 

"Thou  shalt  not  commit  adultery." 

"He  that  looketh  on  a  woman  to  lust  after  her.  or  if  any 
shall  commit  adultery  in  their  hearts,  they  shall  not  have  the 
Spirit,  but  shall  deny  the  faith." 


Messages  from  the  Missions 


The  Work  in  Phoenix 

Arthur  W.  Grix,  writing  from  Phoenix,  Arizona,  encloses  a  portrait 
of  th«  elders  and  lady  missionaries  laboring  in  Phoenix,  Ray  and  Hayden, 
Arizona;  left  to  right,  back  row:  Thursa  Ellsworth.  James  E.  Hamilton,  Nel- 
lie  Ellsworth;  front  row:  Leeman  A.  Jorgensen,  Byron  L.  Western,  Arthur 
W  Grix  and  William  A.  Taylor.  Elders  Western  and  Jorgensen,  labor- 
ing in  Rav  and  Havden,  have  accomplished  some  splendid  work,  and  have 
disposed  of  many  books  in  the  past  three  months.  They  have  thus  secured 
a  goodly  number  of  investigators;  and  Elder  Grix  and  the  others  have  a- 
bored  in  and  around  Phoenix  and  have  distributed  many  tracts  and  books 
and  made  many  friends  for  the  cause  of  truth.  Now  that  the  warm  weather 
is  here,  we  are  able  to  hold  some  very  successful  street  meetings.  Ine 
people  treat  us  better  than  in  any  other  part  of  this  mission  held,     ihey 


live  among  our  members  and  know  how  they  conduct  their  lives.  The  two 
lady  missionaries  are  from  Chandler,  Arizona,  and  have  worked  in  dif- 
ferent fields.  They  received  peremission  from  President  Robinson,  and 
are  working  with  us  for  a  few  weeks,  spreading  the  word  of  the  Lord." 

Great  Success  with  Street  Meetings 

G.  J.  Thurman,  writing  from  Palmerston,  New  Zealand,  February  23: 
"The  photo  herewith  is  of  the  elders  laboring  in  the  Manhattan  confer- 
ence, New  Zealand,  left  to  right:  G.  J.  Thurman,  Provo,  conference  presi- 
dent European  work;  J.  R.  Russon,  conference  president  Maori  work, 
Lehi;  J.  M.  Roundy,  Provo;  L.  O.  Thomas,  Salt  Lake  City;  Leonard 
Winegar,  Woods  Cross.    The  conference  named  extends  over  three  hundred 


miles  of  territory  covered  by  the  Maori  elders  on  bikes  and  on  horseback. 
There  are  two  hundred  Saints  or  more  who  are  all  steadfast  to  the  faith. 
They  work  in  conjunction  with  the  elders  for  the  spread  of  the  truth.     The 


EDITORS'  TABLE 


745 


work  among  the  European  population  is  also  very  encouraging,  although 
there  is  a  great  religious  indifference  shown  by  the  people.  We  are  hav- 
ing great  success  with  street  meetings  which  are  held  regularly,  but  there 
is  marked  opposition  by  other  Christian  churches.  The  Era  comes  to  us 
as  a  great  friend  and  is  enjoyed  by  elders,  Saints  and  investigators." 

Tall  and  Successful 


lit 


a  ■» 


These  elders,  laboring  in  the 
North  West  Virginia  conference,  are 
all  over  six  feet  in  height.  It  is  re- 
ported of  them  that  they  are  energetic 
and  successful  in  their  work,  both  in 
trading  and  in  making  friends  for  the 
cause  they  represent.  Their  names, 
from  left  to  right,  are:  L.  C.  Lam- 
oreaux,  Twin  Falls,  Ida.;  Glen  W. 
Steed,  Clearfield;  George  C.  Bitter, 
Collinston,  and  John  L.  Siddoway, 
Vernal,  Utah. 

Statistics  of  the  British  Mission 

In  the  Millennial  Star  for  March 
1,  appears  the  statistical  report  of 
the  British  Mission  for  the  year  end- 
ing December  25,  1916.  There  are 
thirteen  conferences  included;  in 
these  conferences  there  are  sixty  eld- 
ers and  one  lady  missionary;  there 
are  5,887  members,  all  told,  not  in- 
cluding 1,336  children  under  eight 
years  of  age,  making  a  total  number 
of  souls  in  the  British  mission  of 
7,223.  There  have  been  297  baptisms 
during  the  year. 

A  Lamanite  Sister  Becomes  Active  in  Spreading  the  Gospel 

Elder  E.  Leslie  Young,  writing  from  Portland,  Ore.,  Northwestern  States 
Mission,  says:  "On  Tuesday,  March  28,  while  tracting  from  door  to  door 
in  the  little  city  of  Wanatchie,  Washington,  I  called  at  the  home  of  a 
Limanite  woman  who  invited  me  to  come  in.  I  told  her  of  the  message 
which  I  had  to  deliver,  and  a  long  conversation  followed.  I  spoke  of  the 
Book  of  Mormon  as  a  history  of  her  people,  bearing  a  convincing  testimony 
to  its  truthfulness.  After  a  two  hours'  discussion  of  the  principles  of  the 
gospel,  I  promised  her  that  if  she  would  ask  the  Lord  with  a  prayerful 
heart,  she  might  know  for  herself  whether  the  book  was  true  or  not.  I 
pointed  out  the  promise  in  Moroni  10:4,  5,  in  which  the  Lord  makes  certain 
promises  to  those  who  read  the  Book  of  Mormon.  That  night  before  re- 
tiring she  prayed  earnestly  to  God  to  make  it  known  to  her  if  the  Book 
were  really  true.  In  reply  she  had  a  vision  in  which  she  was  shown  that 
the  Book  and  gospel  as  taught  by  me  were  true.  She  also  saw  a  vision  of 
herself  being  baptized  with  a  number  of  people  standing  about.  On  April 
12,  I  baptized  her,  and  since  that  time  she  has  borne  testimony  to  her 
friends,  and  has  become  very  active  in  spreading  the  gospel,  especially 
among  her  own  people.  Several  have  investigated  on  her  account,  and  one 
is  ready  for  baptism.  Since  her  baptism,  her  health  is  very  much  improved, 
and   this  has   strengthened   her   testimony.     As   a   result   of  her  labors   and 


746 


IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


the  labors  of  the  missionaries  here,  the  gospel  is  rapidly  gaining  favor 
among  our  Lamanite  brethren  and  sisters.  Elder  Heber  W.  Green  and  I, 
who  labor  in  this  part  of  the  country,  hope  to  be  able  to  baptize  many  into 
the  fold  of  Christ  in  the  near  future. 

New  "Mormon"  Chapel  in  Samoa 

Elders  of  the  Upolu  and  Savaii  conferences  of  the  Samoan  mission  held 
April  6,  7  and  8,  1917.  Left  to  right,  front  row:  C.  W.  Smedley,  Sister  C. 
W.  Sedley,  Sister  A.  Twitchell,  A.  Twitchell;  second  row:  H.  A.  Dean,  H. 
A.  Jensen,  incoming  Savaii  Conference  President  W.  M.  Mason,  retiring 
Savaii  Conference  President  E.  Wright,  Mission  President  W.  O.  Lee,  Upolu 
Conference  President  R.  G.  Wood,  W.  T.  Mackey,  V.  G.  Woolley;  back  row: 
H.  O.  Anderson,  A.  D.  Madsen,  L.  Twitchell,  C.  Nuttall,  G.  H.  Hale,  J.  P. 
Murdock,  C.  J.  Sharp,  H.  W.  Anderson,  C.  F.  Farren.  This  was  the  first 
time  the  elders  of  both  conferences  had  been  together  for  over  a  year.  It 
was  President  Wright's  desire  to  have  all  the  missionaries  of  the   Samoan 


Top:    New  L.  D.  S.  Chapel  at  Sauniatu,  Samoa.       Bottom:    Elders  of  the 
Upolu  and  Savaii  Conferences,  Samoan  Mission 

Mission  assemble  for  the  dedication  of  our  beautiful  new  chapel  at  Sauniatu, 
which  took  place  on  Friday,  April  6,  but  owing  to  an  epidemic  of  measles 
on  the  island  of  Upolu,  the  Tutuila  elders  were  unable  to  come  over.    We 


EDITORS'  TABLE 


747 


had  a  splendid  time  at  this,  the  largest  conference  ever  held  in  Samoa. 
Over  five  hundred  Saints  and  friends  were  in  regular  attendance  at  our 
meetings.  Twenty-four  were  baptized  at  the  baptismal  service  held  on  Sun- 
nay,  April  8.  The  mission  is  in  a  thriving  condition,  and  everybody  is 
talking  about  the  "Mormons."  Tracts  are  being  scattered  broadcast  through- 
out towns  and  villages,  and  the  prospects  are  bright  for  making  1917  the 
biggest  and  most  prosperous  year  ever  seen  in  the  Church  since  the  gospel 
was  brought  to  the  islands.  We  are  also  sending  you  a  picture  of  the  new 
meetinghouse.  The  Era  is  received  and  read  with  much  pleasure  in  this 
part  of  the  world;  thanks  for  the  same. — Ernest  Wright,  Mission  President; 
Ray  G.  Wood,  Mission  Secretary. 

The  "Era"  "at  the  Front" 

Elder  Oliver  G.  Ellis,  clerk  of  the  Hull  conference,  England,  writes 
under  date  of  March  20:  "We  always  look  forward  to  receiving  the  Era, 
and  enjoy  reading  it  very  much.  Several  of  our  boys  have  had  the  Era 
sent  to  them  'at  the  front.'  They  enjoy  it,  and  share  it  with  the  other 
soldiers.     In  this  way  much   good  is  being   accomplished.     It   is   indeed   a 


time  of  gleaning  now,  and  the  few  elders  remaining  in  the  British  mission 
are  kept  very  busy  visiting  the  different  branches,  and  in  keeping  the 
Saints  active.  We  were  very  sorry  to  lose  one  of  our  elders  here  in  Hull 
conference,  Elder  Wilford  0.  Freckleton,  who  died  here  on  February  27. 
The  elders  in  the  picture  are  (left  to  right)  President  Wm.  D.  Lewis,  Provo; 
Wm.  A.  Linford,  Ogden;  Wilford  0.  Freckleton  (deceased),  Eureka,  and 
Oliver  G.  Ellis,  Ogden. 

The  Work  in  Japan 

C.  Ralph  Amott,  writing  from  Osaka,  Japan,  March  31,  says:  "The 
preaching  of  the  gospel  is  progressing  favorably  in  Japan.  Each  month  the 
glad  tidings  are  being  carried  to  a  greater  number  of  people.  The  Era, 
besides  being  a  great  comfort  to  us  missionaries,  affords  a  basis  for  many 
good  talks  with  the  people,  because  of  the  splendid  articles  it  contains. 
Those  of  our  Saints  and  friends,  who  understand  English  sufficiently  to 
read,  enjoy  the  articles  greatly,  and  thus  its  field  of  doing  good  is  ever 
widening;  may  its  influence  for  good  ever  grow  greater." 


IPRIESTHOOD  quchCe 

-RUMS'  TABLE 


© 


row 


Teaching  for  April 

According  to  the  bulletin  issued  by  the  presiding  bishop's  office  for  the 
months  of  April,  1917,  Bear  Lake,  Bighorn,  Box  Elder,  Millard,  North  San- 
pete, Oneida,  and  Weber  had  100  per  cent  of  the  families  visited  by  the 
teachers  in  those  stakes.  Other  stakes  range  as  low  as  from  12,  in  Parowan, 
to  as  high  as  99.8  in  Ogden.  The  Ogden  stake  had  36  per  cent  of  the  priest- 
hood attending  the  weekly  priesthood  meetings;  the  next  highest  being 
Granite,  with  30  per  cent.  The  others  ranged  from  as  low  as  4  per  cent  in 
Idaho,  to  29  in  Alberta. 

Reform  in  Dancing  and  Dress 

The  Presiding  Bishopric  of  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-day 
Saints  have  recently  sent  the  following  communication  to  the  ward  bishops 
of  the  Church: 

Dear  Brethren:  Several  months  ago  the  General  Boards  of  all  the 
auxiliary  organizations  were  requested  by  the  First  Presidency  to  give  con- 
sideration to  the  matter  of  improvement  in  the  dancing  and  dress  of  our 
young  people.  A  committee  representing  all  of  the  General  Boards,  after 
spending  a  long  period  of  time  in  study  and  investigation  of  the  subject, 
has  rendered  its  report.  This  report  has  been  approved  by  the  First  Pres- 
idency and  all  of  the  General  Boards,  and  has  been  prepared  for  distribu- 
tion in  the  form  of  a  small  pocket  pamphlet  convenient  for  use  and  preser- 
vation. 

We  are  sending  you  under  separate  cover  a  number  of  copies  of  the 
pamphlet  and  the  communication,  estimated  to  be  sufficient  so  that  you 
may  cause  to  be  delivered  to  every  officer  and  teacher,  both  male  and 
female,  of  all  priesthood  quorums  and  all  auxiliary  organizations  within 
your  ward  a  copy  of  the  pamphlet  and  to  all  women  officers  and  teachers 
a  copy  of  the  communication  on  dress.  If  the  number  of  copies  sent  to  you 
should  prove  to  be  insufficient,  you  may  obtain  additional  copies  by  writing 
to  this  office. 

We  heartily  approve  and  endorse  the  suggestions  contained  within  the 
report  so  sent  to  you  and  we  urge  that  you  adopt  the  recommendations 
therein  contained  and  give  to  the  movement  thus  begun  the  whole-hearted 
support  of  all  the  forces  at  your  command. 

Similar  communications  were  sent  from  the  First  Presidency  to  the 
presidents  of  stakes,  with  instructions  to  distribute  the  pamphlets  and  cir- 
culars to  the  stake  authorities,  high  councilors,  presidencies  of  elders  and 
seventies  quorums,  etc.  The  General  Boards  of  all  the  auxiliary  organiza- 
tions have  also  sent  instructions  accompanied  by  the  pamphlets  and  circu- 
lar to  their  stake  officers.  The  pocket  pamphlet  and  the  communication  on 
dress  were  printed  in  the  Improvement  Era,  Young  Woman's  Journal,  Ju- 
venile Instructor,  Relief  Society  Magazine,  and  Children's  Friend  for  April. 

It  is  believed  that  a  united  effort  on  the  part  of  all  concerned  will  con- 
vince our  young  people  of  the  propriety  of  the  recommendations,  and  that 
their  adoption  will  thus  be  made  universal  throughout  the  Church. 


MUTUAL 
WORK 


ANNUAL  M.  I.  A.  AND  PRIMARY  CONFERENCE 

The  twenty-second  general  annual  conference  of  the  Young  Men's  and 
Young  Ladies'  Mutual  Improvement  Associations,  and  the  fifteenth  annual 
conference  of  the  Primary  Associations  of  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of 
Latter-day  Saints,  will  be  held  in  Salt  Lake  City,  on  Thursday,  Friday, 
Saturday  and  Sunday,  June  7,  8,  9  and  10,  1917. 

All  members  are  invited  and  all  officers  are  particularly  requested  to 
be  present  at  all  of  the  meetings  of  the  conference,  and  a  cordial  invitation 
is  extended  to  the  Saints  generally  to  attend  the  meetings  to  be  held  in  the 
Tabernacle  at  2  and  7  p.  m.  on  Sunday,  June  10. 

Joseph  F.  Smith, 
Heber  J.  Grant, 
B.  H.  Roberts, 
General  Superintenedncy  Y.  M.  M.  I.  A. 
Martha  H.  Tingey,  Ruth  M.  Fox,  Mae  T.  Nystrom,  Presidency  Y.  L.  M.  I.  A. 
Louie  B.  Felt,  May   Anderson,  Clara  W.  Beebe,  Presidency  Primary  Assn. 

PROGRAM  OF  MEETINGS 

Thursday — 8  p.  m.,  Scout  meeting  and  Beehive  Girl  Demonstration,  Des- 
eret  Gymnasium. 

Friday — 10  a.  m.,  Joint  M.  I.  A.  officers'  meeting;  2  p.  m.,  separate  meet- 
ings Boy  Scout  and  Beehive  Girls;  4  p.  m.,  Preliminary  try-out,  public 
speaking  contest,  both  Assembly  Hall;  8  p.  m.,  Reception  and  social  for  vis- 
iting stake  officers. 

Saturday — 10  a.  m.,  Separate  Y.  M.  M.  I.  A.  officers'  meeting,  Assembly 
Hall,  Bishop's  Building;  and  Y.  L.  M.  I.  A.,  Assembly  Hall;  12  noon,  Noon 
luncheon  for  stake  superintendents;  2:30  p.  m.,  Joint  M.  I.  A.  officers'  meet- 
ing, Assembly  Hall;  8  p.  m.,  Grand  finals,  public  speaking,  with  cantata  and 
playlet,  and  distribution  of  medals  and  presentation  of  winning  stake  in 
special  activities. 

Sunday — 8:30  a.  m.,  Testimony  meeting  for  officers  and  workers,  in  As- 
sembly Hall;  10  a.  m.,  Separate  Y.  M.  M.  I.  A.  officers  meeting,  Assembly 
Hall,  Bishop's  Building,  and  Y.  L.  M.  I.  A.,  in  Assembly  Hall;  2  p.  m.,  Gen- 
eral joint  public  meeting,  M.  I.  A.  and  Primary,  Salt  Lake  Tabernacle;  also 
at  same  place,  7:30  p.  m. 

We  stand  for  thrift  and  economy,  for  home  and  country;  for  modesty 
in 'dress  and  dancing;  and  for  spirituality  in  teaching. 


M.  I.  A.  Scouts  and  the  Services  they  May  Render  in  this  Pres- 
ent Crisis 

The  following  resolution  was  passed  by  the  General  Board  of  the  Y.  M. 
M.  I.  A.,  April  11,  1917: 

"Inasmuch  as  our  country  is  in  a  state  of  war,  we,  the  General  Board  of 


750  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

the  Y.  M.  M.  I.  A.  recommend  that  the  civic  services  of  the  M.  I.  A.  scouts 
he  offered  to  the  authorities  of  our  cities  and  villages." 

Suggestive  letters  have  been  sent  to  the  M.  I.  A.  stake  superintendents, 
to  be  forwarded  to  the  M.  I.  A.  ward  authorities  explaining  what  services 
the  scouts  may  render. 

The  following  offer  has  been  made  to  mayors  of  cities  and  village  au- 
thorities: 

"In  this  hour  of  our  country's  need,  we,  the  M.  I.  A.  Boy  Scouts  of  Amer- 
ica and  Scout  officials,  pledge  to  you,  and  through  you  to  the  citizens  of 
our  city,  our  loyalty  and  hearty  support  in  emergencies  which  may  arise. 

"Because  of  our  training  we  are  prepared  to  do  many  things  of  practical 
value.  We  are  not  soldiers,  but  are  ready  to  render  civic  service  such  as 
first  aid  to  the  injured,  and  to  do  signalling  and  serve  as  messengers,  be- 
sides many  other  duties  that  may  be  useful  to  our  country. 

"We  offer  our  good  will  and  loyalty  and  express  our  desire  to  do  our 
duty." 

It  should  be  noticed  b^  parents  and  Scout  officials  that  the  duties  of  Boy 
Scouts  will  in  no  way  be  changed.  They  will  simply  continue  to  do  the 
work  prescribed  for  Scouts,  and  their  daily  good  turns.  The  only  effect  of 
war  will  be  that  they  may  be  able  to  do  some  scouting  work,  suited  to  their 
years,  for  the  city  or  village,  and  some  local  good  turns  for  the  Red  Cross. 
An  offer  to  do  such  work  will  be  made  all  over  the  United  States  by  250,000 
Scouts  and  Scout  officials,  probably  taking  the  form  of  local  rallies  in  the 
presence  of  the  civic  authorities  so  that  the  boys  may  feel  that  they  are  do- 
ing something  for  their  country. 

In  the  warring  countries  the  Boy  Scouts  mobilized  for  civilian  service 
at  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  and  since  then  it  is  reported  that  they  have  car- 
ried out  relief  measures,  helped  the  families  of  men  who  were  sick  or 
wounded,  established  first  aid  stations,  soup  kitchens,  etc.,  performing  all 
sorts  of  work  when  workers  were  away,  harvested  crops,  transported  bed  and 
hospital  furniture,  kept  waiting  crowds  in  order,  collected  material  for 
wounded  soldiers,  made  straw  mattresses  for  rough  field  hospitals,  opened 
letters,  done  office  work,  distributed  food,  acted  as  temporary  nurses,  mes- 
sengers, pages,  and  guides,  handed  out  notices,  and  have  done  many  other 
things  useful  to  their  country. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  repeat  the  assurance  you  received  when  boys 
became  Scouts  that  this  is  a  non-military  organization,  and  that  it  will  re- 
main so. 

"Be  prepared."    "Do  a  good  turn  daily." 

Wanted 

The  Improvement  Era  for  January,  1913,  volume  16,  number  three  is 
wanted.  Send  the  copy  to  the  office;  we  will  return  25c  to  you;  address  20 
Bishop's  Building,  Salt  Lake  City,  Utah. 

The  Era  Story  Contest 

The  Era  story  contest  for  April  resulted  in  the  choice  of  "His  Word  of 
Honor,"  by  Elsie  C.  Carroll,  for  the  first  place;  and  "The  Lady  of  His 
Dreams,"  by  Amy  W.  Evans,  Salt  Lake  City,  for  the  second  place.  Twenty- 
two  stories  were  submitted.  The  decision  for  May,  which  closes  the  contest 
for  the  present,  will  be  given  in  the  July  Era. 


IlllllllllllllllllllllllllllllUii 


llllllllllllllllllllllllll 


PASSING    EVENTS! 


Benjamin  Hampton,  pioneer  business  man,  miner  and  smelter  man,  horn 
Feb.  11,  1837,  in  Philadelphia,  died  in  Salt  Lake  City,  April  5,  1917. 

The  rice  crops  of  India  and  Japan  are  exceptionally  large  this  yeiir. 
Rice  is  one  of  the  few  articles  of  food  that  has  not  been  soaring  in  price 
lately. 

Henry  H.  Blood,  Kaysville,  a  prominent  business  man  and  resident  of 
Davis  County,  and  well  known  throughout  the  state  and  inter-mountain  sec- 
tion of  country,  was  appointed  third  member  of  the  public  utilities  commis- 
sion, for  the  state  of  Utah,  March  20. 

Cuba  has  fifty  submarine  chasers  building,  and  twenty  war  vessels 
which  are  patrolling  the  coast  of  the  island  to  make  sure  that  the  Germans 
do  not  establish  a  "U"  boat  station  there.  The  president  is  earnest  in  his 
desire  that  at  least  a  part  of  the  army  which  now  numbers  about  35,000  men, 
shall  carry  the  Cuban  flag  into  the  battles  of  Europe. 

Spain's  new  Premier  is  Marquis  Prieto.  Count  Romanones,  former 
premier,  retired  because  he  believed  that  continued  neutrality  weakened 
the  prestige  of  the  Spanish  nation,  and  prevented  it  from  properly  defend- 
ing its  legitimate  interests  at  sea.  The  new  ministry  promptly  despatched  to 
Germany  a  message  protesting  against  its  submarine  policy. 

China  severed  her  diplomatic  relations  with  Germany  on  March  16,  the 
cause  being  the  unsatisfactory  reply  of  Germany  to  the  government  of  China 
in  regard  to  the  submarine  warfare.  The  proposal  was  passed  by  a  vote 
of  433  to  81  in  the  House  and  152  to  37  in  the  Senate.  Following  the  break 
the  Chinese  government  took  possession  of  six  Germen  ships  at  Shanghai. 
Recently  a  conference  for  international  affairs  called  by  the  government 
recommended  that  China  declare  w;ar  on  Germany,  and  it  was  thought  that 
Parliament  would  probably  do  so. 

Robert  Davis. — A  few  days  after  the  United  States  declared  a  state  of 
war  with  Germany,  dispatches  from  the  front  told  of  the  raising  of  Old 
Glory  on  the  crest  of  Vimy  ridge,  by  a  Texas  soldier  fighting  with  the 
Canadian  forces.  The  soldier,  Robert  Davis  of  Temple,  Texas,  later  had 
his  foot  shot  away  and  is  now  convalescing  in  a  London  hospital.  Young 
Davis  comes  of  a  family  of  soldiers.  His  father  fought  with  the  French 
against  the  Germans  in  1870-71,  and  took  part  in  the  fighting  around  the 
same  ridge  on  which  the  son  carried  the  Stars  and  Stripes  in  a  victorious 
charge.  Three  years  ago  Davis  was  mustered  out  of  the  United  States  ma- 
rine corps,  in  which  unit  he  served  two  enlistments. 

Fighting  with  the  Allies  are  said  to  be  50,000  young  Americans.  Resides 
this  contribution  of  the  United  States  to  the  forces  in  the  field,  of  the  Allies, 
there  is  also  the  American  mule  who  has  endeared  himself  to  the  transport 
officers  because  of  his  military  qualities.  The  Youth's  Companion,  calling 
attention  to  this,  says  that  he  goes  to  sleep  behind  a  roaring  nine-inch  gun. 
If  he  chances  to  fall  into  a  shell  hole  he  lies  there  nonchalant,  and  self-con- 
tained, until  someone  pulls  him  out.  Rut  we  suspect  that  more  than  appears 
in  the  words  themselves  can  be  read  in  the  remark  of  the  Rritish  officer: 
"He  has  some  ways  with  him  that  we  didn't  quite  understand  at  first." 

Congress  authorized  an  issue  of  bonds,  early  in  April,  to  meet  expendi- 
tures for  the  national  security  and  defense — amounting  to   $5,000,000,000 — 


752  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

out  of  which  amount  $3,000,000,000  may  be  used  in  extending  credits  to  for- 
eign governments,  and  the  remainder  for  national  use.  Congress  also  auth- 
orized the  issue  of  $2,000,000,000  of  certificates  of  indebtedness,  payable  one 
year  from  date  of  issue.  This  makes  a  total  war  appropriation  to  begin 
with  of  $7,000,000,000— the  largest  ever  voted  at  one  time  by  any  other  gov- 
ernment in  the  history  of  the  world. 

The  Irish  question  has  come  to  the  front  again.  In  a  speech  at  the 
Guild  Hall,  London,  Mr.  Lloyd-George  declared  that  Britain  could  not  fight 
a  victorious  war  unless  Ireland  were  won  by  the  just  and  generous  settle- 
ment of  the  home  rule  issue  into  cheerful,  loyal  co-operation.  Both  the 
Canadian  Parliament  and  members  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States 
have  sent  a  message  to  Mr.  Lloyd-George,  pointing  out  the  added  en- 
thusiasm that  America  could  bring  to  the  conflict  if  it  could  feel  that 
Britain  and  Ireland  had  come  to  an  amicable  and  honorable  settlement  of 
their  long  differences. 

General  Petain,  who  commanded  the  French  army  defending  Verdun 
during  the  critical  stages  of  the  battle  in  February  and  March  of  last  year, 
was  appointed  chief  of  staff  of  the  Ministry  of  "War,  by  the  French  cabinet 
on  April  29.  General  Petain  has  the  reputation  of  being  above  all  a  fighter 
and  man  prepared,  and  he  may  well  be  called  so;  he  was  colonel  in  1914, 
general  in  1915,  commander  of  the  French  forces  at  Verdun  1916,  and  now 
chief  of  staff  of  the  French  Ministry  of  War,  in  1917.  On  May  15  at  a 
Cabinet  meeting  General  Petain  was  appointed  commander  in  chief  of  the 
French  army,  operating  on  the  French  front. 

The  selective  draft  or  conscription  bill,  which  provides  for  raising  a 
new  army  by  means  of  a  selective  draft  passed  the  House  of  Representatives 
by  a  vote  of  397  to  24.  The  amendment  that  provided  for  a  preliminary 
trial  of  the  volunteer  system  was  voted  down  by  279  to  98.  The  Senate  also 
passed  the  conscription  bill  by  a  vote  of  81  to  8,  and  by  the  middle  of  May 
arrangements  were  provided  for  making  a  complete  census  on  June  5  of  all 
the  men  in  the  country  between  the  ages  of  21  and  30,  the  age  limit  finally 
fixed  upon.  The  President  has  named  June  5  as  registration  day,  "to  be  re- 
membered as  one  of  the  most  conspicuous  moments  in  our  history."  On 
that  day  all  males  in  the  United  States  between  the  ages  of  21  and  30  in- 
clusive will  be  registered  and  present  themselves  for  assignments  for  their 
tasks — ten  millions  strong.  A  division  of  the  regular  army,  under  General 
Pershing,  will  speedily  be  sent  to  France,  to  be  followed  soon  as  possible 
by  a  larger  army,  including  the  national  guards.  A  squadron  of  American 
destioyers  arrived  on  May  4,  in  Queenstown,  and  went  directly  into  active 
service.    More  destroyers  and  "submarine  chasers"  will  follow. 

British  and  French  representatives,  Cabinet  officers,  and  others  who 
paid  tribute  to  the  memory  of  Washington  grouped  in  front  of  the  historic 
mansion.  Front  row,  left  to  right:  Vice-Admiral  Chocheprat  of  the  French 
Navy;  Mrs.  Eugene  Van  Rensselaer,  vice  regent  for  West  Virginia  of  the 
Mt.  Vernon  Association;  Secretary  Daniels;  Miss  Harriet  Clayton  Comegys, 
regent  of  the  Mt.  Vernon  Association;  Field  Marshal  Joffre;  M.  Viviani, 
French  Minister  of  Justice  and  head  of  the  French  Commissioners;  Secre- 
tary Lansing;  Right  Hon.  A.  J.  Balfour,  head  of  the  British  Commissioners; 
George  Foster,  premier  of  Canada;  Sir  Cecil  Spring-Rice,  British  Ambassa- 
dor, and  Major  Gen.  G.  T.  M.  Bridges  of  the  British  Commission.  Standing 
back  of  Secretary  Daniels  is  Sergeant  Dreyfus  of  the  French  Army;  at  his 
left  Col.  Fabri  and  next  to  him  Colonel  Ramond.  Next  to  him  behind  M. 
Viviani,  is  M.  Hovelacque,  inspector  general  of  public  instruction  in  France ; 
next  to  him  is  the  Marquis  de  Chambrun,  a  descendant  of  LaFayette.  Next 
is  Major  Requin  and  Secretary  Franklin  K.  Lane.  (See  illustration  on  next 
page  and  item  on  page  755.) 


754  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

Clinton  Larson  is  now  the  Olympic  champion  high  jumper,  having 
made  %  of  an  inch  better  than  Alma  Richards,  the  former  Olympic  cham- 
pion. Mr.  Larson  is  of  the  Brigham  Young  University,  Utah,  and  at  the  re- 
cent annual  Penn  relay  carnival  held  at  Franklin  Field,  Philadelphia,  made 
6  feet  5%  inches,  which  is  just  %  of  an  inch  better  than  the  record  which 
was  heretofore  held  by  another  Utah  boy,  Alma  Richards,  of  Provo. 

A.  Larcker,  of  Arden,  Nevada,  who  is  laboring  in  the  Potosi  mine  writes 
to  the  Era:  "This  place  is  located  about  thirty  miles  west  of  Las  Vegas, 
twelve  miles  from  the  boundary  line  of  California,  on  the  old  'Mormon' 
trail.  Evidences  of  the  'Mormon'  camp  are  still  to  be  seen  here.  A  lead 
mine  was  discovered  here  and  worked  for  years.  It  is  still  often  called  the 
old  'Mormon'  mine,  but  is  now  known  generally  as  the  Potosi  mine.  Six 
automobile  trucks  daily  freight  ore  from  it  to  Arden,  about  eighteen  miles 
away,  on  the  Salt  Lake  and  Los  Angeles  railway.  It  is  said  that  the  'Mor- 
mons' started  this  mine  between  1857  and  1860,  so  that  it  is  practically 
sixty  years  old.  One  of  the  boys  here  found  an  old,  home-made  hammer 
weighing  eight  pounds.  There  was  not  much  wood  on  it,  and  both  faces 
were  battered  up.  In  the  old  camp  I  found  in  the  ground  a  piece  of  zinc 
ore  mixed  with  lead,  and  also  a  small  bottle  half  full  of  olive  oil.  I  have 
these  three  specimens  and  will  bring  them  when  I  come  to  Salt  Lake  City. 
About  a  year  ago,  a  number  of  residents  of  Heber,  Wasatch  county,  entered 
some  claims  about  a  mile  east  of  the  Potosi  mine.  These  claims  give 
piomise  of  making  a  prosperous  district  when  the  development  work  is 
done." 

A  National  Road. — There  is  a  section  of  the  Federal  aid  road  law  of 
1916  which  authorizes  the  Department  of  Agriculture  to  take  charge  of 
roadbuilding  in  the  National  Forests,  and  under  this  authority  the  pre- 
liminary work  has  begun  on  a  road  in  the  Apache  National  Forest,  in 
Greenlee  county,  Arizona.  As  this  is  the  first  road  of  this  nature  to  be 
undertaken  it  has  general  interest,  particularly  as  respects  the  reasons  for 
spending  Federal  funds  on  a  highway  so  remote  from  settled  districts. 
These  reasons  have  been  outlined  as  follows  by  the  United  States  Forest 
Serivce:  "The  construction  of  the  road  will  make  possible  a  north-and- 
south  trunk  line  through  a  region  now  inaccessible  and  will  connect  with 
existing  east-and-west  state  highways.  It  will  make  possible  the  sale  of 
large  bodies  of  timber  for  the  use  of  copper  mines  in  southern  Arizona, 
and  will  afford  means  of  travel  for  settlers,  besides  cheapening  the  cost  of 
protecting  and  administering  the  National  Forest.  The  development  of 
water  power  in  the  region  will  be  assisted  and  a  beautiful  recreation  area 
will  be  opened  up  for  tourist  travel  and  for  the  residents  of  the  desert  cities 
during  the  summer  months."  The  surveys  which  have  been  authorized 
will  cover  about  71  miles  of  road,  which  it  will  cost  about  $342,500  to  build, 
and  29  miles  of  road  costing  $77,500  more  must  be  built  to  complete  the 
highway.  Half  of  the  money  will  be  furnished  by  the  counties  traversed 
by  the  route  and  half  by  the  Federal  government,  but  the  road  will  be 
built  under  the  direction  of  the  U.  S.  Office  of  Public  Roads,  instead  of  by 
the  State  authorities  in  the  usual  manner  on  Federal  aid  road  work. 

War  Notes. — Brazil  has  ceased  diplomatic  relations  with  Germany,  but 
still  remains  neutral,  though  it  seized  all  the  German  merchant  vessels  in 
Brazilian  harbors. — Word  came  from  Mexico  that  President  Carranza  was 
convinced  of  the  necessity  of  supporting  the  other  American  republics  in 
their  protests  against  German  methods  of  warfare,  and  it  is  stated  that  meas- 
ures have  been  taken  to  quiet  the  German  propaganda  that  has  made  con- 
siderable headway  in  Mexico.  It  was  even  stated  that  it  might  be  possible 
the  Carranza  would  break  with  Germany.— Arrangements  were  made  for 
this  country  to  loan  $200,000,000  to  Italy  and  France  out  of  the  money  to 


PASSING  EVENTS 


755 


be  raised  by  the  great  bond  issue.  Further  advances  will  be  made  to  the 
allied  nations  as  necessity  demands.  The  French  and  British  commis- 
sioners made  it  plain  that  they  desire  to  have  an  American  army  force  in 
France  at  the  earliest  possible  moment.  They  believe  not  only  that  the 
moral  effect  of  such  a  force  would  be  good,  but  that  its  power  would  be 
even  greater  than  the  material  assistance  it  could  give.  The  Italian  Com- 
mission which  visited  the  United  States,  did  not  ask  for  men,  but  they  were 
anxious  that  the  shipping  should  be  made  free  upon  the  ocean. — Congress 
authorized  the  President  to  take  over  any  ships  owned  in  whole  or  in  part 
by  Germans  and  lying  in  the  American  harbors.  It  is  said  that  German 
ships  valued  at  $51,000,000  were  so  taken. — During  the  week  from  April  26 
to  May  2  the  Russian  Duma  government  removed  a  number  of  officers  for 
incompetence  or  disloyalty.  Twenty-three  generals  were  among  them.  Dis- 
orders in  Petrograd  were  reported  as  a  result  of  the  activity  of  the  socialist 
loader  Lenine  who  is  agitating  for  a  separate  peace  with  Germany.  The 
government  permits  him  complete  freedom  of  speech,  although  he  is  be- 
lieved to  be  in  the  pay  of  the  German  government. 

Citizens  who  have  business  in  Holland,  may  find  assistance  from  Evart 
Neuteboom,  815  Eccles  Building,  Og- 
den,  Utah,  last  year  appointed  vice- 
consul  for  the  Netherlands  by  Queen 
Wilhelmina.  He  received  his  com- 
mission from  the  Hague,  Holland,  on 
March  23,  1916.  The  new  vice-consul 
has  been  a  resident  of  Ogden  since 
Memorial  day,  twenty-six  years  ago, 
coming  to  Utah  from  his  native  land. 
He  is  thoroughly  familiar  with  the  af- 
fairs of  the  people  of  Holland,  and  fav- 
orably known  among  many  of  the  resi- 
dents of  that  nation  in  this  section  of 
country,  and  is  therefore  qualified  for 
the  position  to  which  he  has  been  ap- 
pointed. A  number  of  inquiries  have 
come  to  hand  on  various  government 
affairs  in  that  country,  and  we  men- 
tion this  appointment  so  that  people 
may  apply  to  Mr.  Neuteboom  relating 
to  business  affairs  in  connection  with 
the  government  of  Holland.  Mr. 
Neuteboom  is  an  active  Church  work- 
er, is  the  clerk  of  the  Weber  stake 
of  Zion,  and  besides  is  interested  in 
various  business   organizations. 

The  British  and  French  war  Commission,  the  former  headed  by  Foreign 
Secretary  Balfour,  and  the  latter  by  Rene  Viviani  and  Marshal  Joffre,  ar- 
rived in  Washington  on  April  22  and  April  25  respectively.  At  Washington 
General  Joffre  was  the  center  of  attraction  and  was  greeted  with  cheers  and 
applause  everywhere.  It  is  stated  in  the  telegrams  that  he  received  the 
greatest  ovation  that  the  capital  has  ever  seen  accorded  to  a  foreign  guest. 
In  a  public  speech  the  British  high  commissioner,  Arthur  J.  Balfour  con- 
gratulated the  United  States  on  entering  the  war,  and  so  "turning  the  first 
page  in  a  new  chapter  in  the  history  of  mankind."  The  commissions  suc- 
ceeded in  making  great  loans  in  the  United  States  to  carry  on  the  war. 
During  their  stay  they  visited  many  prominent  places  in  this  country,  in- 
cluding Mt.  Vernon  (see  picture,  page  753),  Chicago,  St.  Louis,  Kansas 
City   and   other  western   and   middle   western   cities.       While   these   distin- 


756  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

guished  leaders  were  in  Mt.  Vernon,  they  paid  homage  to  Washington. 
Grouped  in  front  of  the  historic  mansion  British  and  French  representatives, 
cabinet  officers  and  others  gave  fitting  tribute  to  the  Father  of  the  greatest 
Republic.  Arthur  James  Balfour,  foreign  minister  of  Great  Britain  and 
Rene  Viviani,  French  minister  of  justice  and  member  of  the  French  com- 
mission, spoke  with  deep  emotion  before  the  tomb  of  the  first  President  of 
the  United  States,  of  the  common  fight  for  freedom  in  which  all  three  coun- 
tries were  now  taking  part.  Marshal  Joffre  laid  on  the  marble  sarcoph- 
agus a  plain  bronze  palm,  wound  with  the  French  tri-color.  The  occa- 
sion was  most  solemn,  and  gave  ample  opportunity  for  the  French  and  the 
British  members  of  the  commission  to  voice  the  deep  feeling  held  in  each 
of  their  countries  for  America's  hero.  During  the  proceedings,  the  flags  of 
the  United  States,  Great  Britain,  and  France  floated  proudly  side  by  side 
over  the  tomb.  Later  they  visited  New  York  City  and  were  everywhere 
welcomed  with  great  enthusiasm.  A  commission  from  Italy  also  visited  this 
country  in  May. 

Russian  Revolution. — The  most  startling  event  since  the  great  war  began 
was  the  revolution  in  Russia,  by  which  during  the  few  days  from  March  10 
to  15  the  czar  was  dethroned,  autocracy  and  bureaucracy  overthrown,  and 
a  government  by  a  committee  of  able  and  progressive  men  of  the  Duma  was 
established.  The  czar  on  his  own  behalf  and  on  the  behalf  of  his  son  the 
czarevitch  abdicated  on  the  15th.  The  Grand  Duke  Michael,  the  czar's 
brother,  later  also  surrendered  his  claim  to  the  throne,  with  the  under- 
standing that  if  the  people  in  time  should  desire  it,  he  would  be  willing 
to  act  as  constitutional  monarch.  The  people  of  the  country  including  the 
soldiery  generally  acquiesced  in  the  action  of  the  revolution.  The  new 
government  declared  a  general  amnesty  for  all  political  and  religious  pris- 
oners, liberty  of  speech  and  the  press,  promised  home  rule  for  Finland, 
called  a  constitutional  assemblage  to  be  elected  by  popular  vote  to  decide 
upon  the  future  form  of  government,  substituted  the  police  by  the  national 
militia,  communal  elections  and  universal  suffrage,  and  declared  that  it 
would  devote  itself  to  a  determined  and  efficient  conduct  of  the  war  against 
'he  Central  Powers.  The  accusations  of  the.  Russian  people  against  the  old 
regime  for  its  conduct  of  the  war  were,  inefficiency,  corruption,  and  treach- 
ery. It  had  been  evident  from  the  failures  of  the  Russians  in  the  great  war 
that  an  enemy's  hand  was  secretly  directing  the  affairs  of  the  nation.  The 
allied  governments  and  the  United  States,  directed  their  representatives  to 
deal  with  the  new  government  of  Russia,  and  later  recognized  it  as  the  head 
of  the  nation.  What  may  result  is  mere  conjecture.  Conflicting  elements 
are  at  work.  General  Guchoff,  minister  of  war,  has  resigned,  and  about  the 
middle  of  May  there  was  grave  danger  of  civil  war  or  anarchy  between 
factions  standing  for  the  Provisional  government,  and  socialists  and  others 
which  includes  the  Russian  Council  of  Workmen  and  Soldiers  who  favor  a 
separate  peace.  Whether  or  not  the  new  government  will  be  able  to  unite 
the  people  and  to  continue  the  new  form  of  government  remains  to  be  seen. 
There  are  many  German  and  socialist  intrigues  working  against  such  an 
arrangement.  To  offset  these  the  United  States  is  to  send  a  commission  to 
Russia  to  consult  with  the  new  republican  government.  Mr.  Elihu  Root  is 
to  go  as  chairman,  and  other  members  of  the  American  Commission  to 
Russia  are:  Charles  R.  Crane,  Illinois,  business  man;  John  R.  Mott,  New 
York,  secretary  International  Committee  Y.  M.  C.  A.;  Cyrus  McCormick, 
president  of  the  International  Harvester  Co.;  Samuel  R.  Bertron,  New 
York,  banker;  James  Duncan,  vice  president  of  the  American  Federation 
of  Labor;  Charles  Edward  Russell,  New  York,  author  and  socialist;  Major- 
General  Hugh  L.  Scott,  chief  of  staff  U.  S.  A.,  and  Rear-Admiral  James  H. 
Glennon,  U.  S.  N.  General  Scott  will  have  three  aides,  including  Lieut.-CoI. 
T.  Bentley  Mott,  formerly  a  military  attache  to  the  American  embassy  at 
Petrograd.     (See  picture,  p.  699.) 


The  UTAH  AGRICULTURAL  GULLEGE 


LOGAN,  UTAH 


The  School  of  Agriculture  g 

Agronomy,  Animal  Husbandry,  Dairying,  Agricultural  Bot-  jj 
s  any,  Soil,  Chemistry,  Soil  Bacteriology,  Dry-farming,  Irrigation  | 
g  Practice,  Horticulture,  Veterinary  Science,  Plant  Pathology,  En-  g 
g   tomology,  etc.  1 

The  School  of  Home  Economics 

Foods,  Dietetics,  Principles  of  Nutrition,  Household  Furnish-  g 
§j  ing  and  Design,  Domestic  Art,  Care  and  Feeding  of  Children,  g 
g   Home  Construction,  Sanitation,  Home  Laundering,  etc.  | 

g  The  School  of  Agricultural  Engineering  and  Mechanic  Arts  g 

Agricultural  Surveying,  Agricultural  Technology,  Farm  Me-  g 

g   chanics,  Irrigation  and  Drainage,  Roads,  Rural  Architecture,  Rural  g 

g   Sanitation,  Ironwork,  Woodwork,  Machine  and  Automobile  wort  g 

g   etc.  g 

The  School  of  Commerce  and  Business  Administration        | 

Accounting  and  Business  Practice,  Economics,  Political  Sci-  g 
g   ence,  History,  Sociology,  Stenography,  Typewriting,  etc.  g 

The  School  of  General  Science  g 

Art,  Bacteriology,  Botany,  Chemistry,  English,  Entomology,  g 
=  Foreign  Languages,  Geology,  Mathematics,  Music,  Physiology,  Zo-  J 
g  ology,  etc.  §t 

Any  person  18  years  of  age  or  over  is  eligible  to  the  vocational  g 
g  courses.  g 

g  Fall  term  commences  September  10.  g 


Write  for  catalog  and  illustrated  circular.  H 

( The  President:  UTAH  AGRICULTURAL  COLLEGE  f 

|  LOGAN,  UTAH 

lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllH 


UimiMllinnil mm i I I immimnmmm imm i Ill Ill i wumi mini in m mini imi| 

CHIROPRACTIC 

1        Is  a  science  tested  and  proved,  and  is  giving  relief  to  thousands  of  afflicted. 
I        Chiropractic  eventually,  why  not  now?     Let  me  tell  you  where  your  troubles 

are      Consultation  and  spinal  analysis  free.    Eight  years'  experience.     Grad-  § 

I        uate  of  the  Mother  School.                                                     LADY  ATTENDANT  | 
B.  G.  SANDGREN,  D.  C,  Chiropractor 
SALT  LAKE  OFFICE                                     PROVO  OFFICE 
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Tuesday,  Thursday  and  Saturday                 Monday,  Wednesday  and  Friday 
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1                    Phone  Wasatch  3786                                                Phone  41 

INVESTIGATE   AND   BE   CONVINCED 

-llllilllillllllllilllllllllll '■"' ""ml1" imnmiimnnmiiimmnmi nminnnnmi Ill i iinmimiiimmminii iimimmmim nmift 

Improvement  Era,  June,  1917 

Two  Dollars  per  Annum  with  Manual  Free 

Entered  at  the  Post  Office,  Salt  Lake  City,  Utah,  as  second  class  matter 
Address,  20  Bishop's  Building,  Salt  Lake  City,  Utah 

Joseph  F.  Smith,  )  F  ,.  Heber  J.  Grant,  Business  Manager 

Edward  H.  Anderson,      I  £jauors     Moroni  Snow,  Assistant 

TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

The  Spirit  of  1776  and  the  Spirit  of  Today Frontispiece 

Each  Day  is  Flag  Day  Now.    A  Poem Alfred  Lambourne 663 

Faith   Nephi  Jensen  665 

A  Study  in  American  Hebraic  Names Thomas  W.  Brookbank 669 

Be  Contented.     A  Poem Pearson's   Weekly  676 

Food  Production  and  Conservation  in  Utah Dr.  E.  G.  Peterson 677 

Desolation   of  War 680 

The  First  Farm  in  Dry  Valley.    Prize  Story Elsie  Chamberlain  Carroll 681 

Great  Russian  Duma  in  Session 688 

Palestine  of  the  Future J.  M.  Sjodahl 689 

Beautiful  Sunbeams.     A  Poem Mary  B.  Jenkin 690 

Constantinople   Dr.  Joseph  M.  Tanner 691 

Liberty  for  All.     A  Poem William  Lloyd  Garrison 693 

The  World  Without  Science Dr.  F.  S.  Harris 694 

The  Russian  Revolution 699 

Outlines  for  Scout  Workers— XVIII.     Illustrated  ...Delbert  W.  Parratt,  B.  S 700 

Brigham  Young  Preston  Nibley  703 

The  Co-operative  Plan  of  Salvation Dr.  James  E.  Talmage 704 

M.  I.  A.  Officers  of  Denver,  Colorado 706 

The  Useful  Scout.     Song  with  Music Lucy  M.  Green 707 

Character — a    Sermonet Robert  J.  Burdette 708 

Weighed  in  the  Balance.    A  Narrative Charles  W.  Kingston 710 

The  Girl  who  Changed  Her  Mind.    A  Story Henry  Nicol  Adamson 716 

The  New  Presidency  of  Box  Elder  Stake 722 

Moral  Education  of  the  Adolescent— XIII Newel  K.  Young 723 

Zion's  Temples.     A  Poem.     Illustrated Minnie  Iverson  Hodapp 728 

The  United  States  and  France Rene   Viviani  730 

Light,  Life,  Love.     A  Poem Dr.  Geo.  H.  Brimhall 731 

An   Appeal  for  Service President  Woodrow  Wilson. ...  732 

Mr.  President.     A  Poem B.  S.  Young ...  734 

On  the  Pioneer  Trail  We're  Marching.    Song  with 

Music    Evan  Stephens  735 

Editors'  Table — Unchastity  the  Dominant  Evil  of 

the  Age President  Joseph  F.  Smith 738 

Messages  from  the  Missions 743 

Priesthood  Quorums'  Table 748 

Mutual  Work  749 

Passing  Events  751 


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EDISON 

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They 
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Numerous  great  artists — singers  and  in- 
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reet  comparison  with  EDISON'S  RE-CREA- 
TION of  their  work.  And  the  musical  crit- 
ic; of  more  than  100  of  America's  leading 
papers,  in  the  columns  of  their  own 
pipers — admit,  that  they  cannot  distinguish 
betiveen  an  artist's  voice  or  instrumental 
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Mention  the  ERA, 
and  ask  for  Catalog 


"OLDER  THAN  THE    STATE  OF  UTAH 


LIFE  INSURANCE 

Protect  s^your  family  if  you  die 
Protects  you  if  you  live 

Ask  about  our  plan  which  helps  you  to  accumulate 
an  estate  at  the  same  time  yot  are  protecting  your  family. 
WE  WANT  GOOD  AGEN'i  S  IN  EVERY  TOWN 

Beneficial  Life  Insurance  Company 

Joseph  F.  Smith,  President       Vermont  BIdg.,  Salt  Lake 


ASSETS 
MORE 
THAN  A 
MILLION 
DOLLARS 


Lorenzo  N.  Stohl.Vice-Pres.  &  Mgr. 


Farm 
|MPLEHENT5| 
VEHICLES 


W4/V\]l 


gmpan^ 


DIRECTORS 


JOSEPH  F.  SMITH 
W.  8.  MoCORNICK 
THOMAS  R    CUTLER 

WILLIAM  SPRY 
HEBER  SCOWCROFT 
,  W.  W    ARMSTRONG 
R.  P.  MORRIS 


GEO.  T.  ODELL 

G.  G.  WRIGHT 

JAMES.  H.  MOYLE 

C.  S.  BURTON 
JA8.  L.  WRATHALL 
MALCOLM  A.  KEY8ER 
GRANT  HAMPTON 


SO 

STORES 

IN 

UTAH 

AND 


WHEN   WRITING   TO   ADVERTISERS.    PLEASE   MENTION   THE   IMPROVEMENT   ERA